Serendipity
by Keggy Chaos
Summary: After being murdered by Bootstrap Bill, James Norrington finds himself trapped inside the Locker. Whilst trying to keep a grip on his sanity James encounters a young woman also imprisoned in the Locker. Can they find a way to set things right - together?
1. Like Walking Into A Dream

James Norrington stood amidst the endless desolate plains of Davey Jones Locker. The blue of the sky blended with the white of the land somewhere off in the distance. He had no idea of how long he had been there, for time seemed to pass so slowly that it appeared not to pass at all. James remembered everything which had led him here, all of the wrong decisions to choices he should have never been faced with. He lost everything for Miss Swan and now he was condemned to roam these plain for eternity it would seem. James let out a sigh and pulled himself off the ground. He removed his cumbersome wig and used the black ribbon to tie his hair back. He then tossed the wig back to the ground and began walking forwards. James had no idea where he was going, or what, if anything he would find, but he was sure of one thing. He had to keep moving, he was always a man of action and he wasn't about to change that now.

James had been walking for what felt like an eternity, but never once had the sun moved in the sky above. Ahead of him he saw something white lying upon the ground. Summoning a previously unused amount of strength he jogged up to the object. Upon closer inspection he discovered that it was the wig he had abandoned earlier. In front of the wig were footprints, his footprints to be exact. It shouldn't have been possible and yet there was the evidence lying right in front of him.

The frustration and the heat finally took its toll on James and his gentlemanly demeanour. A harsh string of expletives streamed forth from his mouth and he kicked the dirt. James was not sure how much more of this torture he could take.

A low whistle sounded from somewhere behind him but before James was able to address the whistler a female voice announced "with a mouth like that you must be a sailor of some sort, but, if you are indeed a sailor then where is your ship?" she paused, but before James could give a reply she started again, "but then again, why would you be wearing such a ridiculous costume if you weren't one of His Majesty of England's finest?" her voice trailed off. James could not help but notice the voice had a slight accent to it, but it was not one he was familiar with, he only new for certain that English was not her native tongue.

James's hesitation to turn around or acknowledge this new female presence disturbed the woman, "I'm not a figment of your imagination you know, and if you are as high ranking as your costume suggests then surely it is rude for you not to at least turn around and acknowledge me, I do so hate being ignored."

"My apologies Madam, I meant no offense, however this place has already pulled so many tricks upon me that I find it is best if I simply ignore them," James said as he turned around slowly, mentally preparing for yet another hallucination. Although why a hallucination should have such an implacable accent was beyond him, maybe this place was getting to him more than he had originally thought.

The sight he was met with was stunning to say the least. Firstly, she was standing far too close to him for how distant her voice had sounded only seconds ago. Secondly she was a true beauty, unconventional by British standards, but a beauty none the less. She had a strange eye colour which was neither blue nor green; it was the colour of the ocean and seemed to move around in much the same way. The more he stared, the more he found himself unable to look away from her striking eyes. Her skin was porcelain white without a single blemish to speak of and it served to make her raven black hair stand out even more. She couldn't have been much older than 18 and her stature, while not as diminutive as Lord Beckett, was still far from reaching his own height. She slowly cocked her head to the side and stared back at him, "I think I liked it better when you were ignoring me, Do I have something unattractive on my face, or do you just like to stare?" she asked.

"No, no," James stuttered out, "there is absolutely nothing wrong with your face. In fact, I have never seen one so stunning. " Before James could stop his words they were out of his traitorous mouth.

The woman tentatively reached out and pinched James hard on the shoulder. He yelped and wrenched her hand away, holding it far away from where it could once again inflict pain upon him. James glared at her, "what the devil was that for?" he asked, anger entering his voice.

"I was merely testing if you were a hallucination or not. I don't think I have ever been complemented like that before, so I simply had to test if you were real."

"I believe you are supposed to pinch yourself in order to test that theory."

"Now why on earth would I want to inflict such pain upon myself when I have come to the same conclusion but pinching you?"

James opened his mouth to voice some retort, but found he had none, "I still don't appreciate being pinched Madam," he finally said curtly.

"I'm hardly a Madam you know, and sorry about that, but I was hardly going to carry on a conversation with my own insanity now was I?

"I suppose not. If you are not a Madam, then how shall I address you?

"My name is Synnove Nordenburg, so I suppose you may call me Synnove."

"Calling you by your first name is terribly improper, I must insist on calling you Miss Nordenburg."

"And who is it that will be enforcing said rules of propriety?"

"No one I suppose."

"Well then, there is simply no need for it, is there?" she said smiling up at him.

"I suppose you are once again right Miss Synnove."

Synnove rolled her eyes in reply, "Now then, what is your name?"

"Admiral James Norrington of His Majesty the King of England" he replied bowing elegantly to her.

"An Admiral you say, how spectacular!" Synnove exclaimed, " I think I shall call you Admiral James."

"I believe that your apparent glee is unwarranted, being an Admiral is hardly spectacular," James replied in a low drawl.

"I beg to differ"

"It landed me here now didn't it?"

"I suppose it is finally your chance to be right then Admiral James, but I wouldn't get used to that feeling," Synnove said with another smile.

James smiled back at her, his first genuine smile in years, "what do you suggest we do now then?"

"I think we should go that way," Synnove said pointing left of the direction James had been travelling in recently, "after all, you've been going the other way and ended up right back where you started, so maybe we will have more luck if we go that way."

"I suppose there is no harm in exploring."


	2. Perfect Skies

They walked together for what seemed like days, but with the sun every still in the sky; they had no idea how long it had been. James told Synnove about his life in Port Royal and his younger life in England, all of it fascinated Synnove so much that James ended up doing most of the talking. He even divulged his tale about a certain pirate and the Isla De Muerte and onto his actions which had led him to the locker. Much to his surprise Synnove did not berate him for his actions and accuse him of being a traitor in the manner which Elizabeth had. She simply stared at him for a few moments and then said, "it's a good thing you didn't marry this Elizabeth woman, it seems to me as though she would do anything to get what she wants. How heartless of her to treat you as she did and then make you feel guilty for it. I daresay if we ever get out of here I would like to give her a piece of my mind, or an equally sharp instrument."

James was left speechless for a long time after that, and then finally he responded, "A sharp instrument you say, well I have half a mind to turn a blind eye and let you do it, but she is the Governors daughter after all."

"Was."

"Pardon?"

"Was the Governors daughter, she is little less than a pirate now surely."

"Correct again Miss Synnove," James laughed, another first in years, "so then, you know my story through and through now, how about letting me hear yours?"

"My story is rather far-fetched Admiral James, you may think I have gone mad with the heat if I told you."

"Fighting undead pirates and stealing the heart of Davey Jones isn't far-fetched where you come from? And while I'm on the subject, where are you from? I have tried relentlessly to place your accent but to no avail."

"I'm from Sweden that is probably why you haven't heard my accent before. My story also involved Davey Jones, though through no fault of my own. Are you familiar with the story of why he cut his heart out? Synnove began.

"I believe it was over a woman."

"Yes, that woman was Calypso, a Goddess of the Seas, or at least that is the name she goes by now."

"Now?"

"She is a Goddess with many names and faces over the millennia she has been walking the Earth. The story of Calypso always fascinated my Mother, though she died before she could ever explain her fascination to me."

"I am sorry for your loss."

"Don't be Admiral James! It was hardly your fault," Synnove exclaimed in a voice far too happy for the sadness James could see in her eyes, "However Mother did tell me that Calypso is the oldest Goddess of the Seas and she created all of the other sea spirits and Gods who roam the earth. One such Goddess is Rán, the Norse Goddess of the Sea, who also happens to be my ancestor. Mother was a tad hazy on the details of exactly how that came to pass," Synnove paused for a moment to see if James was still listening. When she faced James she felt his eyes bore into hers.

"That explains your enchanting eyes, however, not how you ended up here."

"I was getting to that," Synnove replied, her porcelain skin lightly coloured red in a blush, "You see, Rán was known for her love of humans, however, every time she pulled a sailor overboard into her arms they died obviously. That was until she met and fell in love with Davey Jones. The more time the spent together the more she discovered that he was far more interesting than her husband Ægir. But the feelings were not mutual for the heart of Davey Jones always belonged to Calypso"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" James added.

"Precisely. It was Rán who made a deal with the Pirate Lords and taught them how to bind Calypso in her human form. She thought that this would leave Davey Jones all to her, but instead he turned away from Rán and everything else, becoming the monster he is today."

"Monster is an understatement. If I were any less of a man his face would have given me nightmares, as it were many of my men refused to be in his presence out of fear."

A stream of laughter burst forth from Synnove's lips. James looked at her in shock, "that wasn't meant to be funny Miss Synnove, I assure you."

"Oh I'm sorry Admiral James, I just find it funny to imagine stern men such as yourself running away from Squidface in terror," Synnove composed herself and looked back up at James, "No shush and let me finish," she said batting at his arm before looping it with his, "The Pirate Lords, in their infinite wisdom let Calypso free in order to beat the East India Trading Company. After she was freed and Davey Jones returned to her she sought out revenge on Rán. However this alone did not satisfy her so she went searching for Rán's descendents. I'm the only living descendent of Rán and so Calypso imprisoned me in here. Isn't it terrible how the foolish actions of others can cause such suffering for innocents like us?"

"I'm hardly innocent Miss Synnove.I have done terrible things"

"I beg to differ, you wouldn't have done any of those things if not for your broken heart."


	3. Gotta Move On Dear

For a while silence descended on the pair as they continued walking. Eventually however, they both fell back into companionable conversation. James found himself amazed by how knowledgeable Synnnove was on topics from politics to literature, she truly was an outstanding you woman. She was just the kind of woman James could imagine marrying one day. James shook his head to banish those thoughts and subtly tightened his grip on Synnove's arm. They continued onwards until James stopped abruptly, "do you hear that?" James asked.

Synnove tilted her head in the same manner, "Yes, it sounds like the ocean."

"Impossible surely and yet that is what I hear also."

"Let's go then!" Synnove began running towards the noise dragging James along beside her.

Synnove tripped on the length of her dress and tumbled down the embankment once again dragging James along with her. When they came to a stop at the bottom of the hill James was lying precariously on top of Synnove. His head was resting on her chest and one of his legs was tangled in between hers. He could feel the heat and the curves of her body beneath him and he knew he had to move before something happened.

"Well hello there Admiral James, when I said earlier that there was no need for propriety I didn't exactly mean this," Synnove said throwing her head back and laughing.

James threw himself off of Synnove and turned away to hide his flushing face. He closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself down but he instantly missed the warmth of her body against his. Once again James found himself shaking away intrusive and altogether improper thoughts of Synnove and her warm body. When he opened his eyes again he found Synnove sitting in front of him looking at him with concern in her ocean coloured eyes.

"Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"I'm quite fine Miss Synnove, just a tad dizzy is all."

Synnove launched herself into James' arms and squeezed him tight, "I'm glad," she said with a pause and she wriggled around to sit beside James, "look James – it's the ocean!"

He didn't know how he could have missed such a welcoming sight. In all of the confusion he had missed the fact that he was sitting with Synnove on the edge of a vast ocean. His jaw dropped as his eyes settled on a conveniently placed small rowboat with four oars.

"How convenient," James said dryly pointing towards his discovery.

Synnove pulled herself off the ground and made her way over to the rowboat. She bent down to pick up two of the oars. She threw them both at James, and much to her relief neither of them hit him despite her rather atrocious aiming.

"Let's get rowing shall we?"

"And where exactly do you suggest we row to? That ocean looks about as never ending as the plain we just came from."

"My point exactly, we've come this far and found something new so we may as well continue onwards. Who knows what we will find. I bet you will feel much more at home on the open sea rather than on land and so will I."

"Best get rowing then Miss Synnove."


	4. Escape From This Afterlife

The sun was beginning to drop out of the sky after what had felt like hours of rowing in the swirling ocean. Suddenly a thought dawned upon James, one he couldn't possibly keep to himself no matter how absurd it had sounded to him at the time.

"I overheard Elizabeth and the pirates she was with mention something about tipping the Black Pearl over just before sunset and being able to return to the other side. Do you think that could possibly work?" James suggested.

Synnove bristled slightly at the mention of Elizabeth, "I think it's worth a try James. Worst comes to worst we look like idiots in front of one another. I promise not to laugh at you if you promise to do the same when met with my sodden appearance." she said with a laugh.

"Why I would never laugh at a lady!" James said in fake outrage, and then began laughing with his companion.

Synnove looked tentatively over the side of the rowboat and dipped a finger into the water. She yelped and quickly pulled her hand back out, clutching her hand to her chest.

"Are you alright?" James demanded grabbing her hand to inspect it for damage.

"I'm absolutely fine James, the water was just a lot colder than I had expected," she said stifling another fit of laughter.

James went to let go of her hand but Synnove wouldn't release her grip. "If this works and we end up back on the other side, in the world of the living, if you will, what do you plan on doing?"

"I honestly have no idea Miss Synnove. There is nothing left for me in Port Royal. Nothing bar the hangman's noose that is, and I don't much look forward to that. What do you plan on doing?"

"I still have a family to return to in Sweden. I have four younger brothers and an older brother who must be wondering about me by now, not to mention my poor Father."

"Oh," James said somewhat dejectedly.

"Well, you know it would be terribly improper for a woman to travel the seas alone without an escort of sorts. Who better to fill that role than the man who has already done such a brilliant job," Synnove suggested, not liking the idea of having to part with James. Though she could not place the reason why, perhaps she thought, she had begun to fall for this fallen gentleman and his broken heart. Her eyes widened briefly at this realisation, but luckily James had not noticed. He seemed far too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Yes, it would be terribly improper, not to mention downright dangerous. I think I shall be escorting you home to Sweden."

"Oh that would be wonderful."

"Now the sun is coming close to setting, come over here and grab on tightly to me, we don't want to risk getting separated after all of this now would we." James commanded, with a hint of a smile to his voice.

Synnove wriggled closer to James until she was sitting between his legs with her arms wrapped around his waist. Her hands holding onto the fabric of his clothing so tightly that her knuckles began to whiten. James slung his left arm around Synnove and tightened his grip around her waist. He tried desperately not to think of the position that they were currently in, but parts of his mind were wandering. Now was no time to lose his focus, he had another reason to live, finally.

"Hold on tightly and don't let go Synnove."

"I wouldn't dream of it James."

And with one final shared smile James tipped the boat over.


	5. Sometimes Life Is Altered

**Note: This is dedicated to all those who have lost their lives in the Christchurch earthquake and those who are still left to be found.**

* * *

Immediately the piercing cold of the water seeped through their clothing and settled into their bones. James thought that at least with his heavy naval coat he would feel less of the biting cold, but in truth it made little difference. He struggled to open his eyes in order to check on Synnove, but the salt water stung his eyes before he could see anything. He tightened his already vice like grip around her waist and squeezed gently, waiting for a sign that she was alright. The seconds of uncertainty rolled on until he felt her return the gesture. Synnove nuzzled her face into James' chest and fought to keep the remaining air in her lungs. The sound of water rushed around their ears and created a deafening roar. The pressure of the water kept increasing, wrenching at what little air was left in their lungs.

The next thing that they knew the pressure of the water was removed and they were greeted with the sensation of the hot sun bearing down upon them. James' eyes shot open with the realisation that they had made it back to the other side. He sat up in the bottom of the boat and hurriedly checked his surroundings for confirmation of his suspicions. The moment he felt the warm breeze of wind through his hair he knew their attempt had been a success. The Locker never had any wind, like the doldrums he thought he would be trapped their forever. But now he was free, for the first time in his life. He didn't have to take orders from his superiors and he could roam wherever he wanted. However, first he had to fulfil his word to Synnove. It was only after he had gotten over his elation at being free that he finally noticed the unmoving weight of Synnove upon his body.

"Miss Synnove?" he called gently to her.

He received no response.

Synnove's face was resting on his chest, her strange eyes were closed now, but he was relieved to find that she was still breathing, albeit in a somewhat shallow manner. Her raven hair was matted into painful looking clumps and her dress was drenched clinging to her body. As his eyes wandered further down he noted that her arms were still limply wrapped around his waist and she hadn't moved from her place lying between his legs. His face flushed for a moment, but he didn't allow himself to further indulge his rogue thoughts.

Tentatively he reached his hand out to her shoulder and shook her.

"Miss Synnove, please wake up."

In response Synnove let a small sigh pass from her lips, tightened her grip on his body and hid her face within the folds of James' uniform.

James too let out a sigh and decided to let her sleep. They were in no hurry after all, and he had no clue as to where they currently were. Nor did he possess a compass to tell him which direction to move in. His melancholy returned to him as he pondered the idea of escaping from the Locker only to be marooned somewhere out at sea with no supplies and no idea what to do. How could he ever hope to help Synnove if he couldn't even find where they were, all of those years spent in the Navy were for nought it appeared. He may as well enjoy the company of the witty woman who shared in his fate and her warm body on top of his for as long as possible. James rested his head against the floor of the boat once again. He idly ran his fingers through Synnove's hair, untangling it as he went.

When James next opened his eyes he was met with a sight he never wanted to forget. Synnove's ocean-like eyes were staring straight down into his green eyes. They were filled with concern and he thought he saw tears in the corners, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Her small hands were placed on his chest and her knuckles were turning white from how hard she was holding his shirt. When she noticed his eyes were staring back at her she launched herself forwards and held James close to her. His face was met with her ample chest and once again James felt his face flush.

"Oh James, for a minute there it appeared as if you had stopped breathing. I thought I had lost you!" she exclaimed.

James tried to reply to her but it came out muffled.

Synnove released her grip on James and sat back on her knees, completely removing her body from his. He frowned slightly at the loss of contact, but he told himself it was only the heat he missed and nothing else.

Synnove did not see the expression of James' face because she was so mortified that she had nearly crushed the poor Admiral, first with her body weight and then with her chest.

"I'm so sorry James, I must have been crushing you this entire time. It must have been terribly unpleasant for you," Synnove said, looking everywhere except at James.

"It wasn't as unpleasant as you think Miss Synnove. I barely even noticed," it was unpleasant at all, in fact it was entirely the opposite James thought to himself.

But of course a true gentleman must say such things, Synnove thought, and there is no finer gentleman I have ever encountered than James.


	6. This Shinning City

"Oh good Lord," James said bitterly.

A while ago the pair had noticed an island off in the distance. James had known exactly which island they were headed for from the moment they had become close enough to better make the shape out. He had spent the rest of their voyage telling himself that there was no way that this could be true. Out of all of the places in the world he couldn't possibly have ended up here once again. Yet he knew no matter how much he hoped otherwise, there was no escaping reality. It was almost enough to make James wish that he was back in the Locker – almost.

Synnove was exhausted and her arms felt as if they would surely fall off if they didn't reach land soon. She wasn't used to doing all of this manual labour, after all, she had people to do that for her. Or when those people weren't around she simply gave her older brother her best pleading face and he would do whatever she wanted. But she couldn't do that now; she didn't want to feel as though she was a dead weight that propriety had forced upon James. He let her take frequent breaks whilst he continued rowing, but she tried to make them short. Despite the straining pain in her arms and shoulders she was determined to keep going, though she had no hope of keeping up with the rigorous rowing pace James had set for himself.

As they came closer to the island Synnove noticed that James was sitting more rigidly than before with his shoulders squared and his jaw set in position. Originally she had dismissed his behaviour as being due to exhaustion or frustration. She soon noticed however that whenever he caught a glimpse of the island they were headed for he would scowl. His scowl became more and more entrenched the closer they got until his face was reminiscent of a storm cloud. She decided against bringing this up with James until his storm had passed.

From their new position against the wharf of the island Synnove could see the few lamps which lit up the streets. They could not hear the sounds of the island from where they were and James was thankful for that. At a distance this island could be considered beautiful, but once they set foot upon land James knew Synnove would soon change her mind. This island was no place for a woman like her or any woman for that matter. If they were going to survive this part of their journey she would need to obey his every word.

"Do you trust me Miss Synnove?" James asked in his usual no-nonsense tone.

Synnove stared at him for a moment before replying that she did indeed trust him, despite having known him for so little time.

"Then I must ask you to never leave my side whilst we are here, for I fear for you safety should you do otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"You are a foreign woman in a foreign land. Although you try to hide it your accent will give you away in seconds. You must keep silent no matter what. The way you hold yourself is a signature of the upper class, which will also give you away."

"And why is that such a bad thing? Synnove demanded to know.

James didn't seem to hear her as he continued on, "We will have to find somewhere safe to stay for the night. We haven't any money, so we will have to steal. Someone d-"

James was cut off before he could continue, "What do you mean steal? I thought you were a man of honor Admiral," Synnove said haughtily.

"It is not something that I take any pride in Miss Synnove. Robbery is our only means of income, I won't have either of us sleeping out on the streets. Not here. We will also have to change your appearance. Here, take my coat," he said removing it and handing it to her.

"What good will this do me, it will surely make me more of a spectacle!" Synnove argued.

"It will hide the fact that you are a woman. Being female in this place will not be an advantage for you. All we can do is hide that fact to the best of our limited abilities."

"Oh," Synnove was at a loss for words. Being female had never gotten her into trouble before, in fact, it had helped her out of trouble more times than she dared to count.

"Oh indeed Miss Synnove," he said gravely before continuing on "How do you feel about rolling your dress up so that it is hidden by the coat?"

"It's rather unconventional, but if it keeps me safe I suppose it shouldn't matter."

Synnove began rolling her dress up to her knees. James quickly looked away trying to hide the flush on his cheeks. Thankfully she had high-topped boots so not all that much skin was visible. Next Synnove removed the ribbon from her hair. It fell delicately around her face, framing it in such a way that James had to bite back a gasp of awe. She truly was beautiful in his eyes, but that beauty would make her all the better a target on this island. She re-tied her hair in a much tighter pony tail and then tucked its length down the back of James' coat. He raised an eyebrow at this gesture.

"I'm not cutting it," Synnove said defiantly, trying to find some control over this situation, "You should call me Nova while we are here. It's close enough to my name so that if you slip it will be easy enough to dimiss."

"Good idea Mr. Nova. Let's get going shall we." He stated rather than questioned.

He stood up in their rowboat and climbed up onto the wharf. It was not a graceful feat, to say the least. He turned around and offered Synnove his hand and she tool hauled herself onto the wharf, albeit much more gracefully than James had managed. James let go of her arms and bowed to her, then held his arm out gesturing to the island before them.

"This may be the last act of propriety you encounter whilst here. Welcome to Tortuga Miss Synnove."


	7. Far Cry From Innocence

The sound of glass bottles shattering was the first that James and Synnove were met with. Crashing sounds rang all around them, as though someone in every direction was taking out their rage on offending inanimate objects. Screams also filled the night, though it was difficult to tell if they were of pleasure or pain. Synnove wasn't about to leave James' side in order to find out. Under the street lamps the true nature of the island was laid bare before them. Men in varying degrees of inebriation took up residence on the dirty ground. Some were asleep in piles of filth whereas others were not too far from following suit. Couples were all but fornicating in the darkened alleys, leaving trails of clothing behind them.

Synnove tried her best to hide her face behind James and cling to him out of fear. James however had to push her back so that they were no longer touching in order to maintain their anonymity. Two so called men holding hands was bound to get them the worst kind of attention possible. Although Tortuga turned a blind eye to most things, it seems some things they didn't let slip. After hearing the scream of a woman's voice down the alley they were passing Synnove pulled James' coat closer to her body and shrank down further. James had been right about this place, it was certainly no place for a woman like her. They passed numerous taverns, bars and inns before James finally stopped at one.

"This is where I used to stay when I lived here. It's our best bet at such short notice."

"I can't believe anyone would voluntarily live here. It's positively barbaric," Synnove said turning her nose up in disgust.

"Sometimes people don't get the option of choice. I ended up here because of my own failures and shortcomings, many of the other islands inhabitants are just the same." James may not have been proud of his time in Tortuga, but the people who ended up here were not bad people. The people of Tortuga had fallen from grace and had nowhere else to turn. He wouldn't defend their actions since arriving here, but he would defend their circumstances.

Synnove remained silent after that. Her younger brothers had always said that she was far too judgmental and it would seem that James had just proven their point once again. She felt a sharp stab in her heart when she thought of her brothers and her father back home. She longed to return home safely, if it hadn't been for James' kind offer she would surely have no hope. Without James' protections he feared that Tortuga would swallow her whole.

James walked through the masses of tables occupied by drunkards and made his way to the bar. He pushed his way through those at the bar and grabbed the attention of the serving woman behind the counter. The woman was much older than James and her red hair was streaked with grey at the temples. Her age didn't stop her from wearing a low cut dress showing parts of her that Synnove would rather not be seeing. The dress she was wearing was a tattered faded blue number. It would have been a gorgeous dress once, but now it was little more than servant-wear. The woman had dull green eyes, as if the island had sucked out the vibrancy from her. Synnove was too far away to hear the words which were being exchanged between the two, but from the frantic gestures the woman was making Synnove could tell the negotiations weren't going to well. The woman wrenched a key from the wall and moved away from the bar towards the stairs. James followed and motioned for Synnove to do the same. The woman didn't speak until they were stopped outside another door which she quickly opened and ushered them in.

"Only one room, but there are two beds for ye," the woman said with a thick Irish accent.

"Thank you madam" James said, Synnove just nodded and kept her eyes on the floor.

"I will expect full payment tomorrow, plus what we discussed earlier Mr. Norrington. I don't usually encourage your kind in here, had I known earlier I never would have let you in."

"Of course Madam, you will have all that you are entitled to. Nova here will also assist you in the kitchen tomorrow as we discussed."

"Damn right he will. What is wrong with him anyway, got no tongue?"

"Nova here barely even speaks English as it was."

"A foreigner ae? Where are you from laddie?"

Synnove looked to James for permission to speak, he signaled that it was fine. She raised her head up and looked straight into the older woman eyes, "I'm from Sweden Ma'am"

"I ain't too worldly lad, where's that?"

"Up in the Arctic Circle Ma'am. Dreadfully cold Ma'am, dreadfully cold."

"That right…" the woman trailed off, "I'll leave you two now. But I'll be back early in the morning to claim Nova for the kitchens." With that she swept from the room.

"Dreadfully cold Ma'am," James said mockingly trying to replicate Synnove's accent.

Synnove glared back at James before removing a pillow from the bed and hitting him over the head with it.

"I would thank you to not mock my accent. Barely speaks English you say? Am I really that bad?"

"Your English is more than adequate. Just remember not to say too much. Your vocabulary will give you away as being upper class. They don't take kindly to being looked down upon."

"Is that what she meant by 'your kind' James?"

"No Miss Synnove, she meant something entirely different."

"What?"

"Never mind. I think its best we turn in for the night," James said removing his sword from his belt and placing it with the other items of clothing he was currently discarding.

Synnove turned away from him huffing and began removing her boots. She wasn't going to take anything else off, especially with James barely a meter away from her. She quickly dived under the covers and blew out the candle in the lamp next to her. James quickly followed suit.

"Goodnight James," Synnove said with a yawn.

"Goodnight Miss Synnove."


	8. Compromised And So Dehumanised

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I never imagined that so many people would like my writting. I'm so honoured and thankful for those who added this to their alerts / fave lists.**_

_**Please enjoy!**_

_**- Chaos**_

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Later that same night Synnove was tossing and turning within the sheets of her bed. She was having what had started out as a lovely dream that had quickly turned to a nightmare. She was simply floating in a freezing cold ocean, not struggling against the current or attempting to make her way to land. Synnove let the water hold her tightly and she felt a comforted in a way she had not felt since her mother was alive. She never thought it was possible to be so at peace in the water. She continued to drift peacefully for some time until she felt something tug at her limbs. The sleeves and along the bottom of her dress were attached to hooks. A large net was coming out of the water beneath her and soon had her completely covered. Synnove struggled against the pull of the net and hooks but it was in vain. The more she tried to escape the harder the hooks pulled at her. As the hooks pulled at her she noticed the sky had changed to a darker grey and the ocean began churning. Violent waves crashed around her and helped to push be underwater. She fought harder to reach the surface, but the net finally pulled her under with one final tug. Frantically Synnove tried to reach her arms out to the surface. She felt her fingertips reach above the water but another harsh tug reined her back in. She opened her mouth the called out for help but her words were chocked in her throat before they could escape. Synnove put all of her strength into one last push against the net and felt her head break the surface. She called out for James to help her, if anyone could help her it would have to be him. But before she could get any answer she was viciously tugged back to the depths. Her limbs felt like dead weight and she had no more strength left to fight. She felt the crushing darkness envelop her, there was nothing she could do but give up. Just before she allowed herself to give up she felt her shoulder being shaken roughly and someone was calling her name. She tried to bat them away but the hands on her were persistent. Someone was pulling her back to the surface. That someone was much stronger than her.

Her eyes shot open to see James leaning over her on the bed. One of his hands was placed on her shoulder and the other was on her cheek. Concern filled his eyes. "Miss Synnove?"

"What's wrong James?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You were thrashing about like a madwoman and calling out for my assistance."

"Was I really? How peculiar." Synnove said as if she had no idea what James was talking about. Her dream was just a dream, no sense in worrying James over something so mundane. He had other more important things on his plate at the moment.

James absentmindedly caressed her cheek with his thumb before drawing himself away. "Well, if you are sure you're alright Miss Synnove."

"I'm sure James, it was just a nightmare. None of which I can recall now. Dreams are such fleeting things, in the dark of the night they appear so real and yet when your eyes are open they disappear with the moon," Synnove said dreamily, "Goodnight James."

James smiled at her and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze "Goodnight once again Miss Synnove."

The rays of the morning sun came streaming into the room where James was still lying asleep. His face was buried into the pillow and a light snoring sound came from his mouth. How he managed to sleep through the noise of last night and the call of the landlady earlier was beyond Synnove. The voice of the landlady was shrill and she had knocked on the door with a heavy hand around ten minutes ago. Since then Synnove has struggled out of bed and readjusted herself for work. She stood in front of the only mirror in the room and made sure that her dress wasn't showing or any other tell-tale signs of her femininity. Synnove frowned at her appearance and left the room without waking James. He deserved a rest after all he had done for her already.

Synnove trudged down the stairs into the kitchen where she met the landlady. After the initial flurry to get the bar clean before the morning patrons arrived, Synnove finally had time to take a break. During this break she finally learnt that the landlady's name was Malvina, but she didn't give a last name. Malvina liked to talk to herself a lot during work, telling herself if she missed a spot and scolding herself when she did. Her beloved husband had always told her that she was losing her more of her marbles each time she spoke to herself. However now she justified her self-narration by claiming that she was having a conversation with Nova. The fact that the young lad hadn't made a sound all morning didn't bother her, much. It seemed the more she tried to coax words from the boy the less likely he became to respond to her. During the rest of the day Malvina made Nova serve drinks at the bar alongside her. Throughout this time Malvina would tell Nova all about the beautiful Emerald Isle where she had originally come from. She told Nova about the first time she had met her husband and how charming he had been. A little after midnight she sent Nova back upstairs to bed. All the paying customers had gone by now and only the dregs were left over to be kicked out until they had some more money. There was no sense in keeping Nova up any longer than need be. Malvina knew there was something a little off with the young lad, but she wasn't going to say anything to him until she had some kind of proof. Lest her husband be correct and she really had lost her marbles.

Synnove made her way back upstairs to retire for the night. She pulled off her boots and released her long hair from its tie. In the adjoining bathroom she checked over her appearance and found that she was covered in grime and dirt from the day's work. She was disgusted with her appearance and quickly set about making herself more presentable. Even if everyone on this island thought she was a young boy it didn't mean that she had to be constantly messy like one. Quite frankly she was appalled with her appearance. In the mirror she made it quite clear to her reflection just how she felt. Once she was finished she made her way over to her bed and noticed that James still was not back.

He had left shortly after she had begun working in the morning and he had not come back since then. Not even for a meal. Synnove's first thoughts were that he had left her behind and had gone to find his own freedom. She was sure she was a burden on him and she couldn't rightly blame him if he skipped town and left her. Synnove quickly dismissed these nagging doubts about James' character with a shake of her head. Even though she had only known him for a short time she was certain that he was not the type to shirk his duties, even if they were self imposed. She knew James would be back soon and then she could go to sleep. As the night wore on Synnove found herself struggling to stay awake. In fact, the only thing that was keeping her awake was her concern for James' welfare. She couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to the Admiral because of her. The more tired she became the more her worries increased. She resolved that no matter how hard she had to pinch herself she would not sleep until she saw his face. And then she would pinch him to ensure that she wasn't just dreaming his return. And so Synnove sat on her bed chewing her fingernails nervously like she used to when she was a child. She fondly remembered how her mother had scolded her for doing such things. Telling her that no boys would want to marry a young lady with such terrible looking nails. Synnove had replied her mother that she wouldn't want to marry a man who was so easily put off. Her mother had always laughed at Synnove's retorts, whilst her father had given her a disapproving look. She missed everything about her mother, but mostly she missed her laughter.

Synnove began to drop of the sleep, comforted by the memories of her mother when she heard the clomping of heavy men's boots on the floorboards. Synnove shot upright and ran her hands through her hair shaking off the clutches of sleep.

The key turned in the lock and into the room stepped a beaten James Norrington.


	9. Wasteland That's My World

James Norrington was covered in blood. It was seeping down in rivers from a wound somewhere buried within his hair. The crimson liquid ran in paths down his face and into his eyes. His once crisply coloured uniform was soiled with dirt and blood and he was walking with a slight limp.

He never had been a very popular man in Tortuga. He surmised that this was primarily due to the fact that he had personally introduced many of the inhabitants relatives to his famous 'short drop and sudden stop' method of business. Although this was not entirely his fault, as he was at the time bound by duty to follow the law. The one time he had not followed the law to the letter, he had lost everything. He still nursed a large grudge for Jack Sparrow. A very large grudge. If he never saw the man again, it would be too soon. But this time Jack wasn't to blame for his beating. Or at least James couldn't currently figure out a way to blame Jack, but the moment that he did, this would all be Jack's fault once again.

James had begun the day by looking for some temporary work in one of the taverns, but there was nothing going. Or perhaps there were job vacancies, but none of them were open to him. No one wanted anything to do with Admiral James Norrington, scourge of Pirates. Well, that wasn't entirely true, there were several things they wanted to do to him, but none of them were remotely pleasant. Before he knew it he had been to every tavern in Tortuga looking for a job and he had turned up with nothing. He couldn't just return to Synnove with nothing to show for today, he couldn't afford to let her down. He was far too used to seeing disappointment in people's eyes when they looked at him, Synnove hadn't looked at him like that and he never wanted to give her a reason to do so.

Now that night was beginning to fall, things were looking grimmer for James. He needed money in order to pay the landlady for last night and tonight, but all of his honest searching was in vain. If he didn't find some way to get money soon Synnove and himself would be out on the street tonight, and he didn't know if he would be able to protect her. So James decided to wait until it was darker before he made his move. When it was darker the Tortugan's would be much further into their drunken stupor and therefore would be much easier pickings for James. He ran his fingers over the sword at his side. He wouldn't kill his intended victim, no, that would make him no better than the murderers that he had hung over the years. He would merely knock them out and run away with whatever little money they had. James wasn't proud of himself and this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. Last time he had been far too proud to relinquish his Commodore's clothing for money, he had kept that cumbersome wig and hat far longer than he should have. He had held on to those possessions when he should have sold them for whatever he could get. Last time he should have acted honestly, the way he was raised, and he had chosen not to. Now that he wanted to act honestly, he had nothing to exchange for food and shelter. Sometimes, James thought, the world is just far too cruel. Synnove was relying on him to do his part and so far he was useless. James tucked himself further into the shadows and waited.

Long after midnight an older man made his way down James' alley. The man was wobbling rather than walking and he couldn't see very far ahead of him. The world was spinning and yet he managed to keep a firm grip upon his bottle of rum. Nothing was more important to this drunkard than his rum. He had left everything else behind to pursue his love of rum, his wife, his children, his family. They meant nothing to him now that he had rum. The drunk wobbled past James, paying him no heed and continued on down the alleyway. Slowly James removed himself from his place against the wall and crept after him. The drunken man began humming an unrecognisable tune which further assisted James in his plan. They were halfway down the alleyway now, no one would come to this man's rescue and his cries wouldn't be heard anyway. Now was the perfect time to strike. James raised his sword still in its sheath from his side. He held tightly onto the handle and swung the covered blade down onto the drunkards head. With a loud crack the man crumpled into a pile upon the ground. James crouched over the slumped body and began riffling through the man's pockets until he found a wallet. The man had not been carrying much, and James didn't feel right taking all the money, so he only took half before leaving the alley in a nonchalant manner. He repeated this several times down different alleys until he had enough money to pay for last night as well as at least the rest of the week. It hadn't been a hard task, but it was one he would have a hard time forgiving himself for. He decided now was the time to go back to Synnove and turn in for the night. Tomorrow he would look once again for an honest job and a way for them both to get off this god forsaken island.

He made his way back to the Inn along the docks. Although it was late at night there were still some ships coming in and others were departing. James stood by one dock and watched as the men aboard the closest ship ran about seemingly like headless chickens. These men had no idea what they were doing, everything they were doing was wrong in one way or another. James cringed at the thought that he had once been so useless at sea. But time had helped him to perfect his technique, time and the whippings he received for his failures. The captain of this ship was obviously too lenient on the boy sailors in his charge. That lenience could lead to someone being seriously hurt or the loss of lives. When James saw a man wearing a hat which identified him as the captain and what appeared to be his first mate came within hearing distance James decided to voice his concerns.

That was his first and only mistake of the day. Remarkable considering how well he was liked on this island.

It was shortly after he had spoken his first sentence that he realised something was wrong. He hadn't said anything particularly damning or insensitive, but his tone was his usual tone, thick with his air of authority. His condescending tone lead the sailors to believe he wanted to start a fight. As the sailors began to yell down at him from their various positions on the ship he noted that they weren't speaking English. James hurriedly began to speak in Latin in an attempt to converse with the sailors. He had been forced to learn the language as a boy, but he had never found it useful, even now it was proving to be useless. His broken Latin seemed to only increase the anger of the sailors who began advancing upon him. James conceded that he was in over his head and began to back away from the docks, straight into the chest of a much larger muscular man.

That is when the beating commenced. It certainly couldn't be considered a fight as a fight was considered to be at least somewhat fair. The large man behind James decked him with one punch. Before he knew it the men from the ship had run down to join in on the fun. Punches were coming at him from all directions before he could manage to drag himself to his feet. He was down and there was no way of getting up, not with all these people around. James had never been known to be a coward, but the safest way out of this situation was to pretend to be unconscious for a while and then slink away when no one was looking. He felt disgusted that he was reduced to stealing and now blatant cowardice, but there were no other options. James curled himself into a ball, concealing the small bag of money tucked under his clothing and lying on his sword. He couldn't risk either item being stolen from him, so he hid them. Like the coward he was.

More punches rained down upon his body and were shortly joined by vicious kicks to the ribs. James lost any notion of how long he had been lying prone in the dirt; he closed his eyes and pretended he was elsewhere whilst they continued. Once the sailors realised they weren't going to get any rise out of him they became bored and left. But not without the deliverance of one final kick to the ribs.

Once the noise of the sailors had disappeared James raised his head to check they were truly gone. He saw no one in the immediate vicinity so he hauled himself painfully upwards and limped back to the Inn.

All the way back to the Inn James was mentally berating himself. He had only been trying to help those sailors and look where it had landed him. His sense of honour and good will to others did him more harm than it ever did good. By the time that James had made it slowly back to the Inn he was fuming mad with himself. He decided that the next time someone appeared to be having difficulty, no matter who they were, he was just going to let them suffer. Damn them all and let them suffer, it wasn't his problem, his only duty was to Synnove.

He walked up to the landlady at the bar counter and slammed his bag of money down. She disregarded his appearance, he wasn't the first beaten man to come in here and he wouldn't be the last. She counted out the coins slowly before saying, "this will do the pair of you for a week, and if Nova keeps working as well as he has today then I suppose I could stretch that out to two weeks. The boy was very useful today. Got things done in half the time I did. Still not much of a talker, will have to cure him of that. Such a submissive little thing, is that how you like them Admiral? Or should I say former Admiral."

James' face went red at the insinuations of the landlady, he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off before he could.

"Oh well, off to bed with you. And don't you be waking Nova on the way in. I need that boy to be working again tomorrow, not taking care you a washed up old salt like you," she said a whisked off out to the kitchen.

James narrowed his eyes and swallowed his anger as he made his way up the stairs.

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**Hello my lovelies! Thank you for staying with me for all this time, but there comes a time in the life of every story when an author must beg for reviews ... so please tell me how I am doing so far.**

**Also, if you are interested, my friend drew a picture from this story - I'll link it on my homepage  
**


	10. Warmness On The Soul

The minute he stepped through the door Synnove was at his side. She pushed her body against his and took some of his weight, helping him walk easier over to his bed. Synnove eased him down onto the bed and then walked out to the bathroom. She came back carrying a basin of warm water and a cloth and placed it on the table at his side. Whilst she was gone he had removed his sword and boots and placed himself under the covers, still sitting upright. He looked exhausted and was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"What on earth happened to you James?" Synnove said as she sat next to him on the bed. Concern filled her eyes.

"Just Tortuga as it usually is, nothing too serious." James said attempting to dismiss her worrying eyes. He just wanted to rest; he was in no condition to answer her questions.

"Nothing too serious? How can you say such a thing, you are covered in blood." If Synnove had been expecting an answer, she would not receive one. James was too far gone to say anything intelligible now. Synnove sighed at his appearance and begun the task of cleaning him up. She dipped the cloth into the warm water and then wrung it out, making sure not to soak him and make him any more uncomfortable than he must already be. She moved tentatively towards the blood on James' face, trying to find the source. She placed her small pale hand on the side of his face that wasn't covered in blood and began to clean the crimson liquid away. There was so much blood and the majority of it had dried and caked onto his skin and into what appeared to be the beginnings of a beard he was growing. As she ran the moist cloth over his skin James' face began to slump against her hand and his eyes closed. Synnove continued to remove the blood from his face with one hand a caressed his cheek with the other. She stopped abruptly when a light grunt escaped his lips and withdrew her hand, she was terrified that she had hurt him in some way.

"James? Did I hurt you?" His eyes slowly opened and met with hers.

"What? No, no, you didn't hurt me. Please keep going," he said groggily with a small smile, "it feels nice." Had James been fully conscious he would never have dreamed of saying those words to her, but the beating had thrown his propriety out the window along with most of his consciousness. He continued to mumble incoherently under his breath whilst Synnove continued on. She strained to hear snippets of what he was saying and wished that she could hear him more clearly, but upon failing this she resolved that sometimes the private thoughts of delirium were better left as they were. James' eyes began to drift closed once again and he slumped forward into Synnove. She could feel the warmth from his body reaching out to hers causing her eyes to widen at the contact. She was used to her younger brothers acting in such a way after their childhood skirmishes, but a fully grown man was another story completely. James was entirely helpless in her arms. Synnove had never seen a man look so much like a child, so lost and forlorn. His half asleep form made her wonder what he had looked like as a child and she giggled slightly at the idea. A miniaturised James running around with a wooden toy sword clutched tightly in his hands and a serious look upon his face flooded her mind and she had to bite her tongue to quell her laughter.

James let out another grunt, this time of pain as she brushed against the wound hidden in his hair. This simple noise was enough to shock her out of her fits of silent laughter. How could she be laughing at him when he was so vulnerable? She scolded herself for thinking such terrible thoughts and resumed her duties, this time being more careful around his tender head.

A short while later Synnove had managed to patch James up, complete with a bandage tied around his injured head. He was sure to be covered in bruises in the morning, but she would worry about that later. Now she was tired and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep in her own bed. She made a move to get up, but found she was caught on something. She let out an exasperated sigh as she thought that she would never get a decent night's sleep. She turned to see what she was caught upon and discovered that James was holding tightly on to her sleeve. He had finally fallen asleep minutes before and now she was trapped in his sleepy grip. She frowned and tugged, trying to free herself but to no avail. She had to be careful with trying to remove his grip. She didn't want to wake him or hurt him in some way and she couldn't just hit him until he let go like she could with her brothers.

Synnove moved the fingers of her free hand to cover his. The muscles in his hand were tense and she could feel the veins as she traced them with her fingertips. Her fingers lightly stroked his hand and she whispered closely to his ear, "let go James, you have to let go now."

This had the opposite effect to which she had desired. His grip tightened and made its way to her wrist from her sleeve.

"No. Everyone I let go never comes back," he said in his sleep.

"I'm not going far," Synnove said amazed at the clarity his dreamy words held.

"You'll leave me forever. Just like …" he trailed off as his voice took on the tone of a lost child.

Synnove's eyes darkened as she scowled. That Elizabeth women James had mentioned earlier had clearly left him with a gaping hole in his heart. When he had mentioned her he only had kind words for her, but it was evident that she had left him with deep running wounds. Wounds which itched and bleed in the dark of the night, wounds which became visible when James let his guard down. It all made Synnove resent this woman she had never met even more.

"I promise you I will not ever leave you James. You only have to let go for a little while now. I will not run away."

James dropped his grip and Synnove was able to move away. He seemed to be in a peaceful sleep once again and Synnove smiled down at his prone form. Throwing caution to the wind she leant over and placed a kiss on his forehead. It was a terrible thing for an unwed lady to do, let alone one of her social class. But no one would ever know what she had done, so all was well.

She retreated from his side but found that she was again trapped. Synnove let out an impatient sigh. This man was certainly a handful. But her was her handful, for now, she thought happily.

"You promised, remember?" his voice said quietly.

"Of course James. I'm never going to leave you," she meant every word.

With that he finally released her and she slipped off to bed at long last. She drifted off to sleep wondering if James would have promised her forever if the tables had been turned. Forever with him wouldn't be entirely unpleasant she thought with a wry smile.


	11. Demons They Follow Me

Once again Synnove was drowning. The nets had grabbed a tighter hold on her this time and they weren't about to let her go. The crushing darkness was closing in on her; the pressure on her chest was unbearable. She tried calling out and thrashing about, but whatever was holding the other end of the net wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Her mouth was covered with thick material and the nets were wound tightly around her body, immobilising her. This time the hooks pierced into her flesh rather than into her clothing allowing for a more substantial grip to be held. Her own crimson blood was soaking into the depths of the ocean. It was helpless. She couldn't save herself, she had no strength left and no one could hear her pleas for help because she was gagged. No one was coming to save her this time. She would meet with whatever was pulling her down, if she didn't drown first.

A hand slapped her across the face, leaving a stinging imprint on her normally porcelain coloured flesh. It wasn't as hard as others she had received during her life, but it would undoubtedly leave a mark for a while.

"You sneaky little bitch! I knew something was off about you!" a shrill high pitched voice shrieked in her ears.

Synnove's eyes darted straight open and landed upon the figure of Malvina standing over her, fist raised, ready to strike her again.

"Please Malvina Ma'am I can explain!"

"Oh I bet you can you little sneak. Your kind always has something cunning to say, think you can worm your way outta this one do you?" Malvina continued on in her newly acquired high pitch.

"Please Ma'am give me a chance!"

Malvina rolled her eyes at Synnove but nodded at her to explain herself. The girl had obviously been taken in by Norrington's charms. He was certainly charming, if nothing else, she would give him that. Malvina hoped that the girl at least had an entertaining story to tell before she threw the pair out.

"James said that I would be safer here if I was disguised as a boy and after some of the things that I have seen here I would have to agree with him completely. We never meant to betray your trust and insult you. We just needed somewhere safe to stay for a while." Synnove bowed her head in shame. Malvina had been nothing but kind to her and James, albeit she was rather rough around the edges, but they had betrayed her the minute they walked through the door.

"James ae? On a first name basis are you?"

"It's not like that I swear! James, er, Admiral Norrington saved my life! Without him, I surely would have perished. I am such a long way from home and he has given me his word that he will help me return."

"And he aint asked you for nothing then? No special favours in return for his services?"

"What do you mean?" James had never asked Synnove for anything.

"You know…" Malvina made lewd gestures with her hands and instantly Synnove understood.

"Heavens no! The Admiral has never asked anything of me, not even for money. He has been the perfect gentlemen through and through."

"No kidding?"

"Of course not. Lying hasn't got us anywhere so far has it?"

Malvina pondered this for a moment before saying, "throwing on a coat hardly hides your femininity dear, and you have a lot to hide. I knew you were far too pretty to be a boy! Come with me child, I'll do a far better job of making you a man than Norrington could." With that Malvina hauled Synnove out of the room, leaving a still snoring James in the corner.

Synnove was dragged to a room down the other end of the hall. It was sparsely decorated but it had a distinctly male feel to it. Malvina walked up to the set of drawers and began raiding them for clothing.

"These are my sons, but he aint here at the moment so you can use them," she said thrusting the wad of clothing into Synnove's waiting arms, "there is a tub in through there where you can clean up," pointing at a door off to the side, much like in Synnove and James' room. "Now while you're in there I'll see if I can't find something to bind your chest with."

"Bind my chest?" Synnove wondered aloud.

"Yes child, your breasts are a dead giveaway. You can't go around wearing Norrington's coat for the rest of yer life now can ye?" Malvina swept from the room, locking the door behind her to allow Synnove some privacy.

In the bathroom Synnove removed James' coat along with the rest of her clothing. Her once new dress was now tattered from days of continuous wear and tear. She let out a disheartened sigh, the dress used to be her favourite and now it would have to be thrown away.

She examined her reflection in the full-length mirror while she waited for the tub to fill up and she was startled at what she saw. Her wrists had angry red marks around them, crisscrossing lines travelled all the way up her arms. The same marks could be found around her ankles and up her thighs. In the center of either wrist was a large cut, as if a fishhook had been stabbed through her flesh. She stared in wonder at her injuries as she remembered the events of her nightmare earlier on. The injuries were in the exact same places they had been in during her less than peaceful sleep. Her fingers traced along the red marks as she examined them more closely. They weren't just marks on her skin, she realised, they were delicate thin cuts and the red marked where the skin had been broken. She shuddered at the memory of her nightmare, she would have to find some way to hide the cuts lest James see them. He had enough to worry about without worry about phantom cuts on her body. This thought caused a slight blush to colour her cheeks as she thought of numerous ways James would receive a sneak peak at her legs. All were scandalous ways of course, but her private thoughts were safe in her own mind. Unless she talked in her sleep like James did she thought with a start. But surely she didn't talk in her sleep; one of the maids back home would have mentioned it.

She let out a sigh and slipped into the tub, she had so many things on her mind and now she wanted nothing better than to wash the intruding thoughts away with the dirt she had accumulated the past few days.

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Thank you so much to anonymous for their wonderfully kind review - it really made my day! But of course now I'm terrified that I won't be able to keep up with your expectations... Oh the insecurities!


	12. Nothing Is Harder

"What made you change your mind?" Synnove said stepping out of the bathroom wearing the trousers and shirt Malvina had left for her.

"About what child?

"You said you were going to throw James and I out, what changed your mind?"

"You did Nova. There is something about you, something I can't truly place, but its there, whatever it turns out to be," Malvina said wistfully.

"My name is Synnove. I had James call me Nova because it's a male's name which isn't too far from my own. "

"Such a pretty name!"

"Thank you," she said with a blush. Her eyes darted to the bundle of material that Malvina was holding in her hands, "what is that for?" she asked sincerely hoping that Malvina had forgotten about binding her.

"It's to bind you child, now you're going to have to take that shirt off so I can do it properly." Synnove's eyes widened so large that Malvina thought they would pop out of her head. She chuckled at the young girl's expression, "now is hardly the time to be so modest child. You have been sharing a bedroom with an unwedded man haven't you?" Malvina didn't wait for an answer, "well then child, there is nothing for you to worry about now is there!"

Synnove let out a gasp before giving up her protest. Malvina did have a point, an extremely valid one at that. She closed her eyes and allowed Malvina to set about her work.

"Such beautiful hair," Malvina said bringing the comb through Synnove's raven locks. She tried to hide emotions building up within her, but she was overcome with grief at that moment. She tried to make her sobbing inaudible, but Synnove was very attentive, it would seem. Synnove turned to face her.

"What is wrong?" she asked with her head cocked to one side.

"Nothing child. Just got caught up in my own head as usual."

Synnove shock her head, "that's not right. Something is wrong. After all you have done for me the least I can do is listen."

"I had a daughter once. Little Bec would have been your age by now, maybe slightly older, she may even have been married with children of her own. She was such a beautiful sweet little child."

"What happened to her?"

"She, little Bec was, she was…" Malvina broke out into tears again. Her sobs wracked her body uncontrollably. Synnove stretched her arms around the larger woman and cradled her, like a mother would a child.

"You don't have to tell me if it's too hard for you. I don't wish to cause you more pain"

"No, once I start a story I might as well finish it," she said taking a deep breath and clearing her thoughts before she began. "My little Bec, she fell in love with a wealthy older man. His name was Ronan O'Brien, widowed with five young'uns running around. The minute she met him she fell for his charm, she said he made her better than she had ever dreamt of being. She wanted nothing more than to marry him and help him raise his little ones. He wanted nothing more from her than the one gift a woman can give only to one man. That scumbag tricked my little Bec into giving him that gift out of wedlock and then he tossed her aside. You see he didn't want my little Bec, he was everything to her and she was nothing, no, less than nothing to him," Malvina said, venom dripping from every word.

"That's terrible!"

"That's barely even the start of it my child. He went away, back to the city, leaving Bec to care for his children, saying he had business to take care of, he promised little Bec that when he came back they would marry. She was terribly excited when she fell pregnant with his child and as the months of his absence grew longer she grew bigger. When O'Brein finally returned to his home, he didn't return alone."

"He had another woman with him didn't he?" Synnove guessed, too often had she heard tales of the dangers of lying with a man whilst unwed.

"Yes, the woman was his new wife. She was a proper woman, born and raised with a silver spoon in her mouth she was. She wasn't pretty, but she was from money. The only thing that O'Brein truly loved it would seem. He told the woman that Bec was a poor whore he had found on the streets and had taken in because of her ability to placate his children. He relegated to her the duties of a maid, tending to his new wife all the while promising that she would soon be gone and they would be free to be together."

"What did he do?"

"He killed his new wife and framed Bec. She swung from the gallows with his unborn child still in her belly."

Synnove let out a horrified gasp. How could one man claim to love and yet be such a monster? "That's truly terrible," she said as light tears made tracks down her cheeks.

"My son Andrew, he tried so hard to have her freed. Or at least have her sentence lessened. He begged and pleaded, but he was unsuccessful. He always spoke highly of Norrington, I would have hated for him to have turned out to be of the same ilk as O'Brein.

"Your son knew Jam-Norrington?"

"You should call him James if that is what he allows you to do. Andrew was Norrington's lieutenant when we lived in Port Royal, until that bastard Beckett chased my husband and I out here to Tortuga"

"James did mention Lord Beckett, he names helping him as the worst thing he ever did. Now that you mention it, I recall James talking about a subordinate who was dreadfully loyal by the name of Andrew. Is your surname Gillette by any chance?"

"Yes. That's my son, loyal to a fault he is." Malvina said with a smile.

'James said that he had perished during the hurricane off the coast of Tripoli."

"Not quite, Andrew was making his way home to Port Royal when he landed here in Tortuga. The look on his face when he walked in here to book a room for himself and two prostitutes and being greeted by my face was priceless. He pretended that he was injured and that the ladies were helping him walk. As if I don't know exactly what he was going to do. Silly boy of mine didn't fool me for a second." She was laughing at the memory; her spirits were beginning to lift.

"James will be so pleased to learn that Andrew is alive!" Synnove wanted nothing more than to race to him and tell him the good news. He had frequently told her how guilty he felt about the deaths of the crew he had lost near Tripoli, but none did he lament more than Andrew Gillette. Synnove didn't however, he was fast asleep and she knew she didn't have the heart to wake him.

Malvina's voice broke her of her thoughts, "Come now child, time to begin working. We'll let Norrington stay upstairs recovering; he left enough money to pay for your stay here for the next week so you don't need to worry about that."

"Something tells me that with James around I won't need to worry about anything ever again." Synnove admitted with a blush.

"Makes you feel safe does he?"

"Like no one else ever could. It is strange."

"Oh I don't think it's strange child, it's wonderful," she said with a sly smile.

"How could it be wonderful?"

"Now that is something you will have to figure out on your own child. I can't go around telling you all the secrets now can I? Have to leave some mystery in the world."


	13. Like A Plague Fed To The Brain

Pain mixed with an unquenchable desire to sleep forever plagued James for several days as his injuries healed. It was hard for him to tell the waking moments of pain from the sleeping moments of pain. Many times he had felt he had been soothed by cool hands placing clothes on his forehead and force-feeding him food. There was no doubt in James' mind that those hands belonged to Synnove, her touch was the only one that could sooth him so well. Many times he had half woken to find Synnove by his bedside, watching him with careful eyes. Before he could ask for water, she already had it waiting for him. Sometimes he swore he had felt her lips on his forehead before he drifted back off to sleep, but the darkness always claimed him before he could wrench his eyes back open and make sure. At those times he wished for nothing more than to know for certain if she was taking care of him out of duty, or out of true kindness. Other times he was filled with bitter venom, thinking she would surely turn out to be another Elizabeth, thinking that he should just hurry up and get rid of her before she tossed him aside like ashes in the wind. Part of him knew she wasn't like Elizabeth in any way, but a much louder part of his mind screamed out that all women were the same on the inside. His waking moments were filled with confusion, never sure if he was still asleep or if he was awake. The times when he was sure he was awake he let his mind wander over things he had not wanted to think about. The skeletons in his closet made their way out into the sunshine and they danced in front of him throwing him in to the deepest, guiltiest waters of his mind.

In those moments his thoughts strayed to all of the men whose deaths he had been responsible for. Over the years he had captured, sentenced and personally hanged at least a hundred pirates, but for that he felt no remorse. Despite Elizabeth's reasoning that pirates could also be good men, he would never change his opinion; a pirate was a pirate, nothing more and nothing less than cold blooded murderers and plunderers. Then his thoughts drifted to the men he had lost at sea. Sure, from time to time careless officers had been swept overboard by rogue waves and he had been unable to save them. But that didn't lessen the feeling that he should have been able to do something. Then there was the hurricane off the coast of Tripoli. That damned hurricane had cost him everything but his life. He had lost one of his most trusted companions during that debacle not to mention the majority of his crew. Those who had survived along with him were never able to look him in the eye, they all blamed him, and they were right to do so. His men had all trusted him with their lives, trusted that he was the man that the Crown had said he was when he was given his promotion. Everyone who had ever put their trust in him had been wrong. Lieutenant Gillette had paid for that mistake with his life, he was the one whom James mourned the most. Gillette had been like a younger brother to him, he had taken Gillette under his wing in the hopes that he would one day succeed him, but James' own actions had seen to that never being possible. James let silent tears slip from his tightly closed eyes as he was overcome with guilt.

He also wondered what had happened to his other Lieutenant, Theodore Groves. Groves was even younger than Gillette, but he seemed even more eager to please. Whenever James had snapped an order Groves had been the first to jump to attention. Perhaps Groves had thought of his as an older brother, perhaps a father figure, James would never know. He felt for sure that young Groves had perished along with Lord Beckett and his flagship. James had overheard enough to know that Beckett had fallen to the pirate armada and that Port Royal was now under the jurisdiction of a much kinder Governor, not that James had cared to learn the name. James never had any intention of returning to Port Royal, no matter what or who tried to convince him otherwise.

So much blood was on his hands that he felt he would never be able to wash it all off. He was a failure as a son as his father had made explicitly clear, a failure as a naval officer, a commander, a protector, a potential husband as Elizabeth had made clear to him with her blatant snubbing. To think, he was once the renowned 'scourge of piracy', he was feared by every mother's son who dared to call himself pirate. James had once been a great man, yet he lost that greatness with the one act he thought would regain it for him. He had made so many mistakes for such a short life. He was at a loss as to how he was going to successfully return Synnove to her homeland. Once he would have felt no worries about such a seemingly simple duty, but now he was filled with fear. Synnove was so young, so vulnerable, she would be better off in the hands of a more capable naval officer. One who's heart didn't stir when she smiled, one who would protect her out of duty to the Crown rather than one who protected her because of the way she made him feel. He knew he should take her to Port Royal and beg one of the Admirals to take her home safely, but one look into her ocean coloured eyes and he knew he couldn't abandon her or trust her in the care of another. Perhaps they had been brought together for a reason he though. Perhaps, that reason was his last chance at redemption, his final chance to get things right. She would be his final test, the one he would not fail.

With that determination he swung his legs out of bed and stood up. His legs were shaking and could barely hold his weight, but he could expect little else after being bedridden for who knows how long. The lack of light coming in through the curtains allowed him to assume that it was night time, but the lack of noise coming from downstairs had him confused as to what the actual time was. As James' eyes slowly surveyed the room his eyes landed on Synnove's bed which appeared as if it had not been slept in recently. Instantly he was alert, if she had not slept in here for some time, then where had she gone? Had the old landlady forced her out onto the streets even though James had paid for accommodation for the next week? Had he been out for more than a week? He agonized for several long minutes over what had happened to Synnove, his thought immediately drifting to the worst case scenario. Surely he had failed her already and he would discover her mangled and violated body down an alley somewhere. He made a dash for the bedroom door, but had to cling to the wall in order to steady himself. He just had to make it across the landing and down the stairs and demand to know where Synnove was. No, where Nova was, but surely it would seem suspicious, one man being so concerned over another? James would have to play it carefully, just the right amount of authority with a bit of concern, but not so much concern that it would be noticeable.

While his mind was racing with those thoughts he walked smack into someone and fell on his behind with a painful thump. He let out a loud grunt accompanied by several words that only sailors should use; his anger was increased further when the person he had run into burst out laughing. The man he had run into was accompanied by another and now both were laughing. James hurriedly pulled himself off the ground and rose to his full height. He squared his body as best as he could with his injuries and his increasingly sore behind and pulled the nastiest glare he could muster.

His green eyes met directly with the brown ones of a man he thought long dead and behind him was another slightly shorter man who should also be dead. With that realisation, James Norrington did something he thought only women do. He fainted.


	14. Cold Without You Here

There was nothing Synnove hated more than a slow night. It was dark, late and cold and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed for the next few hours and sleep. But first the drunken men had to remove themselves from the premises so she could begin cleaning up some of the mess that they had made during their stay. The same men came in every night, drinking themselves to oblivion in the same seats and the same clothing. If Synnove didn't know any better she could have sworn that time never passed in Tortuga, but she was dreadfully aware of the slow passage of time.

James had been unconscious for a couple of days now, but he would wake up every so often, mumble incoherently and then return to sleep. The first time he had woken up Synnove could not have been happier to see his shining green eyes. She had worked herself into such a state worry by his bedside that Malvina had to forcibly remove her from his side so that she could get sleep before starting work again for the next day. Whenever Malvina didn't need her assistance Synnove would run upstairs to check on James, fluffing the pillows and flattening out the sheets. She had no real idea what to do, so she did the stuck to doing the basics while Malvina took care of the more complicated elements. Synnove always felt so useless and embarrassed in those moments, but it was better to be useless and do nothing than attempt to do something and cause more damage than good. She just wished that the next time James woke up, he would stay awake. Synnove missed him more than she felt that it was proper to miss him.

She cleaned the tables and swept the floors after the usual drunks had left. Thankfully tonight there were no charming piles of vomit to mop up, so she could finish up sooner than she had anticipated. Synnove barely managed to keep her eyes open as she swept around and under the tables, the rhythmic sounds and repetitive movements threatening to send her to sleep standing up. She shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up. She couldn't risk falling into her dreams in such a public place, even if all of the members of the public had left. Every night she had had the same nightmare, being pulled under into the crushing darkness of the water. Every morning she was woken my Malvina with the same look of concern etched upon her face. Synnove wished she could tell Malvina about her nightmares, but she hardly knew the woman, she didn't need Malvina thinking she needed to be sent to a sanatorium. When she had first told her story to James she had been terrified he would haul her straight to a sanatorium once they escaped. But the more she thought about it, the less likely that seemed. If she was insane, then so was he. After all, she just claimed to be related to a goddess; James had claimed far more outrageous things than she. That is why she had decided to tell Malvina she had been kidnapped during an ocean crossing – which was not too far from the truth – rather than tell Malvina what had really happened and how she had come to be so attached to James. Even Synnove felt the whole story was rather farfetched at times, but she would not change it for the world. Malvina was a kind and tolerant woman, but there was only so much Synnove would reveal to her. She was so lost in thought that she nearly jumped a foot in the air when Malvina's hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"You know child, you never did tell me how you ended up being kidnapped. Won't your poor mother and father be worried sick about you?" Malvina said, concern filling her watery eyes. She knew the pain of worrying about a child and she felt sympathy for Synnove's parents.

"Im afraid my Mother can't feel much nowadays, she died when I was younger. Father is busy doing business in China so he may not even have noticed my absence yet," Synnove said in a monotone, she wouldn't allow herself to cry over her situation, other people suffered far more than she.

"I'm sorry little one. I'm sure when your Father returns he will be overcome with grief, just you wait and see. Someone is bound to miss such a helpful child like you."

"Unless I return before he does, then there is no reason for Father to know about it. I am sure I can keep my brothers quiet if I bribe them enough," she smiled at the mention of her brothers, "do not get me wrong, I want James to be fully compensated for all he has done for me and for all that he has promised to do, but I am terrified of what my Father will say."

"I see child. But what will you do if he does find out?"

"I honestly have not thought that far ahead. Tortuga is such a long way from Sweden, what if I never make it back?"

"If Norrington gave you his word, then you had best believe him."

"Oh I don't doubt him for a second; I just wish I wasn't such a burden on him. He could do whatever he wanted if he didn't attach himself to me," Synnove cried out, biting at her nails nervously.

"Norrington wouldn't be doing it if he didn't think he had a reason," Malvina said swatting at Synnove's hands, knocking them away from her teeth, "that is a dreadful habit young lady. I don't think you will be dragging Norrington away from anything more important than drinking here my dear. Tortuga and copious amounts of alcohol do terrible things to men like Norrington. Removes all of their strict regimenting and leaves them nothing but unruly young boys," she paused, "now little one, why don't you tell me about your siblings while we get the rest of this place cleaned up. If anything it will make the time go faster, I know how eager you are to check on Norrington," Malvina said with a wink, nudging Synnove's arm. Synnove's skin flushed bright red, which caused Malvina to laugh lightly under her breath. This girl is so predictable Malvina thought, so predictable and so innocent.

Synnove smiled as she told Malvina about her older brother Sigurd and her younger brothers Konrad, the twins Jarno and Jarpi and her baby brother Soren. She loved talking to Malvina about her brothers; they were the best family she could ever hope for. Soren had been only five years old when their Mother died and since then he attached himself to her wherever she went. The twins were slightly more independent, but whenever a storm cam in she had to share her bed with the three of them. In a way she was a replacement Mother for them and she would not change that for the world. She missed them all terribly, but she worried about Soren and Sigurd the most. The night that their Mother had died had been the last time that Sigurd ever spoke a word. Maybe it was because his heart was so broken, Synnove told Malvina, or maybe it was because he was so ashamed that he could do nothing to help, but either way, his voice was never heard again. He was a strong man on the outside, but Synnove knew he would be having a tough time being alone with his younger siblings. Konrad always found a way to get into trouble, even a simple trip to the local market could end in disaster with him around. Malvina had laughed hysterically as Synnove told her tales of some of the more ridiculous things her brothers had done in the past including how she had managed to wriggle them out of trouble at the last minute. Malvina told Synnove not to worry about them, because, "they may not have you around right now child, but it sounds like they will be fine. You seemed to have taught them well enough."

Finally they were done cleaning for the night. Synnove was amazed by just how right Malvina had been when she said that talking makes them time go faster. Now if only she could talk to the customers during the day without being too worried that she would be discovered for being a woman. She was about to dart upstairs to check on James when there came a loud banging at the front door.

"Oi!" a loud male voice yelled out, banging more heavily on the door.

Synnove cringed, she had finally been finished and now she had to tell some drunk that they were closed. They never did take to well to being told to go away, some of them even took swipes at her, but she always managed to duck in time. Malvina was always right behind her, ready to show the drunks just who was boss of her Inn.

"Wake up! I lost my key somewhere and I want in! Its freezing out here!" more loud knocks sounded against the door, this time it sounded as if two men were hitting the door. Synnove paled, Malvina was intimidating enough to get rid of one man, but two was a different story.

Malvina threw down her dish towel and made her way through the maze of furniture. Synnove caught a glimpse of a smile upon Malvina's face and she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"It's my boy. Seems he is home from the sea at long last."

"You mean Gillette?"

"Yes dear, Philip is home," Malvina wrenched the door open, "come here my son! Give your Mother a big hug! You've been gone for such a long time my boy."

A tall man staggered through the door followed closely by another slightly shorter man. The taller man had long dark red hair tied behind his head in a ponytail and watery blue eyes while the shorter man had dark brown eyes and hair. The minute Synnove's eyes met the taller man; she knew that he was certainly Malvina's son. The resemblance between Mother and son was undeniable, but she could not place the other man. He certainly was not related to either of them, but he looked as though he was at home in the presence of the other two.

"Oh Theodore you're here as well!" Malvina said throwing her arms around the other man, "It's no surprise to see you two have been out drinking, staggering about the way you are. Your money would have been better spent here, kept in the family."

Gillette frowned as his mother continued to scold him and Groves was biting back laughter until his eyes landed upon Synnove who was still standing in the same place as before. He raised his hand up and pointed at her.

"Who's that?"

"Don't point, its rude! You should know better than that former Lieutenant. This here is Synnove, come here girl!"

Synnove finally found her feet and shuffled nervously over to the group. James had always spoken so highly of the two men before her. In fact, he had told her so much about them that she already knew far more about them than was appropriate for a complete stranger to know.

"She came here with someone you both know," Malvina said slyly, not revealing anything too interesting for now.

"She? That's a boy Mother, surly your eyesight isn't that bad," Gillette teased.

Malvina hit her son across the back of his head, "Don't you be so rude, and she is in fact a young woman. It was her minder's idea to disguise her as a boy; he did a terrible job I might add."

Synnove smiled, "he did the best he could."

"You said we knew him Mrs. Gillette?"

"How many times must I tell you boy, you are to call me Malvina. Even Synnove here has managed to pick that up by now. Yes you know him!" she let out a little giggle, "do you think we should tell them Synnove, or should we show them?"

"I don't think they would believe us. I know he wouldn't if I had had the opportunity to tell him."

"What are they talking about?" Groves asked Gillette.

"You know about as much as I do."

"You boys run along upstairs, we will follow in a moment."

Groves and Gillette nodded and began staggering upstairs, hands firmly holding on to the railing at their side.

"I think that will do for tonight, now let's go give those boys the fright of their lives. It may even sober them up so that they can help with the cleaning tomorrow. Though I doubt it."

Above them they heard a loud thump accompanied by a painful sounding grunt. Malvina rolled her eyes at Synnove and said, "I just knew they wouldn't get very far. If that sound didn't wake Norrington up then I don't know what will." She then grabbed Synnove's hand and led her up the stairs behind her.

In the hallway the two men were standing over another male body. The silence hung in the air, neither Gillette or Groves could quite believe what they were seeing. James Norrington, lying in a heap before them with a bandage wrapped around his head. The pair stood gaping at Norrington's prone form, not knowing if they should help him up or pinch one another to check that they were not hallucinating.

Synnove pushed between Groves and Gillette and dropped down on the floor next to James, "James, James, wake up, James?" she cried desperately.

Malvina hit both men on the back of their heads and they yelped at the same time, "don't just stand there you two, Synnove can't lift the man up on her own," she scolded.

"Uh, right," Groves said pushing Synnove gently away from James and grabbing him under one arm while Gillette grabbed the other. They hauled him to the open door of the bedroom he had just vacated and threw him face down on the bed.

"Not like that, the man can't breathe!" Malvina tutted and rolled James over so that his face wasn't buried in blankets and pillows anymore.

"Is this what you were talking about earlier?" Gillette asked.

"Yes, although I wasn't expecting you two to knock the poor man out."

"We didn't knock him out Mother."

"Well then how do you explain his little nap on the floor then?"

"He fainted!" Groves exclaimed, he was sobering up a little now, but he was still largely inebriated making wild gestures with his hands that threatened to knock the fixtures from the walls.

Synnove ignored all of that and tentatively sat on the side of the bed next to James. He had finally woken up and she hadn't even been there when it happened, she frowned at her bad timing.

"You two get to bed; we can discuss this more in the morning. Hopefully Norrington will be well enough by then," Malvina ushered the men out of the room and back to their own before returning to check on Synnove.

While Malvina had been gone Synnove had moved closer to James, running her hands through his hair. She had done this so many times since he had been unconscious that there were no knots to tangle her fingers in. She moved her hands down and gently rubbed his back before checking that no one was near the door. Synnove pulled the covers back down over his body and then leant over and placed a small light kiss on his forehead. She gave his cheek one last caress and then darted out of the room, terrified that someone might have seen her. Malvina hid around the other side of the door and smiled to herself. Synnove deserved some happiness and if she got it from sneaking kisses from the forehead of Norrington then Malvina was not going to stop her.

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_A/N : Thank you to everyone who has added this to their alert list and everyone else who has read it. _  
_ This part gave me so much trouble; I just couldn't get my mind to work properly for some reason. Most likely because of the university essays I left until the last minute were bearing down upon me and my mind was too busy trying to figure this chapter out. Poor politics is going to suffer for this one *gulp*_

_Anonymous: Thank you so much for the kind review! You brought a big smile to my face. I honestly have never considered becoming a professional story writer. For a while I flirted with the idea of being a journalist of some sort but it didn't seem to suit me. So I decided politics would be my major (as well as philosophy – which I love but no one really takes seriously)._


	15. Bet Your Life That I'd Do It Again

**In honor of ANZAC Day (25th April) here is another chapter for you to (hopefully) enjoy**

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The morning after James had collapsed in the hallway he had made his way downstairs at around breakfast time. He could not be sure if what he had seen was real or if it was a waking nightmare until he had seen Synnove. She would explain everything to him, tell him he had never seen the ghosts of Gillette and Groves, reassure him that he wasn't losing what was left of his sanity after all of this time.

Synnove did indeed explain everything she knew to about the situation to James and when she could no longer fill in the gaps Gillette and Groves finally made an appearance sometime after lunch to fill in all of the other missing details. James was relieved to find out that he had only being unconscious for a matter of days, rather than weeks as he had feared. He was also greatly relieved that Malvina had taken Synnove under her wing and disguised her properly rather than throwing her out on the street. He had never known that Malvina was Gillette's mother, but now that he did he felt more indebted to her than previously. She had done so much to help Synnove fit in with life on Tortuga and she didn't even mention paying any extra for the bandages he had needed. Malvina and Synnove had also seemed to have developed a friendship over the time that James had been unconscious. Synnove followed around after Malvina similar to the manner in which a duckling would follow its mother, always eager to learn something new.

James sat down at the empty bar while Gillette and Groves took turns telling him about everything that he had missed during his extended absence. He was wary of telling Gillette and Groves what had happened since Bootstrap Bill had run him through, but he settled on telling them the truth. They had both stood by him through far more outrageous circumstances; they wouldn't turn their backs on him now. Least of all it would explain his connection to Synnove, whom they had already figured out, was a young woman.

Gillette had become stranded after the shipwreck during the tornado. He toiled away in Libya until he was able to barter a ride back home. He worked on the ship in exchange for passage and food. It had taken him several long months and he had to change ships many times, in order to make his way back to Port Royal. However, when he returned, he was thrown in jail for refusing to reveal the location of former Commodore Norrington. Lord Beckett and his men had been so convinced that Gillette knew where Norrington was, it was both his salvation and his damnation. His silence about Norrington was the only thing keeping him from hanging like his sister, but it was also the reason he had been placed in jail in the first place. Lord Beckett placed Gillette under the guard of Groves, not knowing that the men were close friends long before his arrival in Port Royal. Groves made life in prison slightly easier for Gillette, discreetly giving him extra blankets in the winter and extra rations of food to keep him alive.

Before Lord Beckett had arrived in Port Royal, Groves had finally found himself a lovely young woman by the name of Evelyn Townsend. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes upon, short, with dark blonde hair and sky blue eyes with impeccable tastes and style. Her father had agreed to allow them to court the minute that Groves had asked and they enjoyed many parties together, getting closer and falling deeper for each other as time passed. Groves was all set to marry Evelyn, he carried a ring around in his pocket, waiting for the opportune moment to pull her father aside and formally ask for Evelyn's hand in marriage. When Lord Beckett arrived it tore them apart, Evelyn's younger brother was charged with consorting with pirates and hung from the gallows with dozens of other nameless faces. Groves had made his way to the Townsend's home that same night to ask permission to marry Evelyn, not knowing what had happened only hours before. Mr. Townsend had literally thrown him out yelling at Groves and accusing him of betraying the feelings of his daughter in order to further his career in the service of Lord Beckett. Groves never got a chance to ask for Evelyn's hand, she had slapped him across the face and accused him the same way her father had. Evelyn's blue eyes had never been so filled with tears in all her life. She told Groves that she never wanted to see him again and she sincerely meant it, in her eyes he had gone from her naval officer hero to being as good as the man who hung her brother. Her heart was broken and so was his. There was nothing left for Groves to do than follow Lord Beckett's orders and ship out to sea. When Lord Beckett fell Groves was finally able to return to Port Royal as a free man, he only had one thing on his mind as he made his way from the docks to his residence. He would find the ring and the one woman he wanted to give it to. No matter how much begging and pleading he had to he knew she was the only one he wanted. Being on the Endeavour and nearly losing his life had made him realise that Evelyn was the reason that he fought so hard to stay afloat. He had been gone for months on end, but he hoped that absence had made her heart grow fonder, he hoped against hope that he could convince her he had nothing to do with her brother death. He just wanted her at his side for the rest of his life. He should never have left her so easily; he should have fought to be understood. When he reached her home and knocked upon the door he was met with the only sight that could break his heart. His Evelyn opened the door, looking as beautiful as he had remembered. He allowed his eyes to travel down her body and was met with a slight swelling in her stomach and another man's ring enclosed her wedding finger. Her bright smile faded the instant she recognised Groves. She demanded to know why he was there, but before he could get a word out another young man appeared behind her. The first time that he had met this man Evelyn had told him that the man was just a childhood friend; that he would never be anything more to her, but apparently a lot had changed since he had been gone. Groves fled from the door and from Evelyn before he said something that he would later regret. Serving under Lord Beckett had cost him the only woman he had ever loved, the light of his life. It also cost him the respect of the people of Port Royal, none of them would even make eye contact with him anymore, nor would they nod and say a polite 'hello' as he walked by. Port Royal held nothing for Groves, nothing and nowhere could ever make him truly smile again. Unlike his former Commodore, Groves did not throw himself into his alcohol, he simply stopped doing everything. He dropped to the ground, curled into a foetal position and fought back his tears. He tried to tell himself that it was all her fault, but he knew deep down that he was as much to blame for his predicament a Lord Beckett was. Groves had no idea how long he lay on the side of the road in such a state before Gillette had stumbled across him.

Gillette in a half-drunken stupor had literally stumbled across Groves. After being let out of jail he had found himself left with no purpose, he had nothing left to do other than drink away his commission. Try as he might, Gillette did not have the option of returning to his previous service. Lord Beckett had marked him as a traitor to King and Country. Everything he had worked so hard for had been stripped from him on the whim of one man. He could never hope to make his Mother proud now, even if she did live on Tortuga, her approval still mattered to him. He was a traitor to the people of Port Royal as well as a traitor in the eyes of the Navy, before the eyes of the very King he always thought he would die serving. The more he allowed these thoughts to swim about in his mind the more he craved to drown himself in alcohol. So mere days after he had been freed from jail he had spent all of his remaining funds on alcohol and silencing the nagging thoughts in the back of his mind.

After some deliberation the pair decided that the best chance they had at living the rest of their lives as free men would have to be found in Tortuga. It may be a lawless place where one could simply disappear, but it was also a place where they could live without the judgmental glares of their peers. Gillette knew that although his mother would be disappointed that he was no longer an honourable naval officer, she would be happy to see him nonetheless. So Groves and Gillette made their way to Tortuga and began their new lives working on the docks.

James had never expected Gillette and Groves to forgive him so easily, nor did he expect them to continue to be so welcoming. He often found himself overcome with thoughts about how everything was finally falling into place for him for once. He even had a job working alongside Gillette and Groves at the docks. James hoped that it wouldn't be too long before he could earn enough money to secure passage for Synnove and himself to Sweden. But before he could even hope for that he needed to find a ship which was even going in that direction, Tortuga was after all, a very long way from the Arctic Circle.

Everything was perfect, or at least as close to perfect that James could ever hope for. He had been given a second chance at life and that second chance just happened to have reunited him with the two best men who had ever served with him as well as giving him the company of a beautiful kind natured woman. She took checked that his injuries were healing every night before sending him off to bed with a smile, she always ensured that he was well fed at mealtimes and made sure that he was warm enough while off working at the docks. If they had met under different circumstances he could see himself asking her father for permission to court her. She would have made the perfect wife for a man with the social standing that he once had. But there was no way of going back and changing anything, for even if there was he wouldn't change a thing about his life now. At one time he would have given anything to go back and take Elizabeth for his own, but now when he thought about it, he knew she would never have cared for him the way that Synnove appeared to care for him. She was completely trusting of him and would follow any decision he made, blindly it would seem. Synnove was completely reliant upon him; she depended on him to get her back to her homeland safely. And in that laid a problem James had not encountered before in all his years. His naval training had not prepared him for such a moral dilemma. But then again James thought, nothing could have prepared him for anything he had faced since the damned Sparrow had appeared.

He was Synnove's guardian, her protector. It was his job to beat away anyone who would wish her harm and make them stay away. That is what a protector did, but a protector also guarded her virtue, how could he protect her from, in essence, himself? As soon as he had noticed those feeling growing within himself he had attempted to squash them down, to banish them from his mind so that he could carry out his duties with a clear conscious. However, he wasn't the only one who had noticed the growing connection between himself and Synnove. Malvina took great joy in subtly teasing him about the situation. Telling him how handy Synnove was around the kitchen and how she enjoyed cleaning - though James knew this had to be a lie after all the times he heard Synnvove muttering under her breath about men who ate more like pigs than gentleman and men who didn't know what a bath was. Malvina even went as far as suggesting that if he didn't make a claim on Synnove, she would throw her son at her. The face James had pulled at this suggestion told her all she needed to know about where the heart of Norrington lay. She always let out a cackling laugh whenever she teased James about Synnove and as result James had taken to calling her and old witch. Not to her face of course, nor in the presence of Gillette or Synnove as he was unsure who would scold him harsher for his words. So he kept his lips tightly pinched together whenever Malvina was around. He didn't need nor want her comments about his love life, or lack thereof. But he knew deep down that Malvina was right, Synnove was a desirable woman and one day someone would claim her as their own, but until then he was in charge of her wellbeing and no one would touch her until she was safely home back in Sweden. If he could do nothing else, he would at least make sure that he fulfilled his promise to her.

* * *

**NOTES OF THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THIS STORY**  
_After investigating the timeline for Pirates of the Caribbean on the Wiki website the death of Norrington occurs in 1740. As a result I have placed my story near the beginning of 1741 so that not much time had passed between his death and his return, but enough time has passed for many to know that he is dead. As mentioned earlier, Synnove is from Sweden which is at war with Russia during this time (1741-1743). At the moment I'm not sure if this will affect this story in any way, but I thought I would give you some background information in case it becomes relevant in some way._


	16. Try and See It All

While he working on the docks James had been reunited with another face from his past, Mark Benford who was, at the time they originally met, a merchant based in Port Royal. Like so many others he had also been forced to flee when Lord Beckett arrived and also like many other he was forced to take refuge on Tortuga. He was no longer a merchant with his own ship, Lord Beckett had seen to that, but he knew his way around the docks of Tortuga well enough. He was the one who told James of a ship which he knew was travelling to Denmark in a few weeks. So far he had kept this information from Synnove because James didn't know if he could earn the money required in time. He didn't want to get Synnove's hopes up just to turn around and dash them later on if he failed to do what he needed to do. James worked extra time, coming home much later and leaving much earlier just so he could make a bit more before meeting the captain of the ship going to Denmark. Benford had told him the fee for two passengers and the deposit required for their first meeting. James had enough for the deposit, but it would take a while before he had the full expense taken care of. He was running himself into the ground working so hard for such extended periods of time, however, he knew that in the end, the smile he would see on Synnove's face would be more than worth it.

James walked in to the bar with his shoulders squared and his head held high. He was determined to get what he came here for and nothing less; he was prepared to be as ruthless as need be. Benford had told him that the man he needed to speak with was a Captain D. Gibbons. Little had been mentioned about the physical appearance of Captain Gibbons apart from the fact that when you saw him you would know. Such a description was of little use, but that was he cryptic way Benford had always spoken, after all these years he was unlikely to change now. James was to go straight to the bar and order Whiskey, and then take a seat on the second bar stool from the right, close to the exit. He was then to wait for five exact minutes before he was to take a sip from his glass. Benford had been very specific with his instructions, saying that doing one thing wrong could ruin everything. He had gone to a lot of trouble to get this meeting arranged for James and he dare not set a foot wrong, so much ridded on this man saying yes to his request and more importantly, his gold. He tapped the side of his glass, frustrated and impatient. He hated being made to wait like this, he would jump through hoops as he had been trained, but waiting on others had never been his strong point. It had been 10 minutes since he had carefully sipped at his drink. Ten long minutes of staring at the glass in front of him, not daring to take another drink though he craved it so much. He could not risk becoming inebriated and ruining this chance, the only chance he had.

"Welkom Herr Norrington, Herr Benford mentioned you would be paying me a visit," said a deep voice behind him, a thick German accent rolling of the man's tongue. The man had extravagantly curly long black hair and most of his face was hidden by a large bushy beard. His eyes were so dark that they too appeared to be black, with barely a glimmer or light trapped within them. He was about a head taller than James and rather rounder as well, a formidable opponent should the circumstances arise, or a powerful ally. He hoped it would be more of the later as he didn't like his chance in a fist fight but, a duel would afford him the upper hand.  
James stood and nodded to the man, extending his hand in the customary handshake, "thank you for seeing me at such short notice Captain Gibbons."  
"Nonsense Herr Norrington, it is my pleasure to assist you in your venture. Please follow me to the back room where we can discuss business in private," he said leading James out of a side door into a dark candlelit room. He took a seat opposite Captain Gibbons, they were alone in the room, but this only served to make James more nervous than he previously was. Not that it showed on his face, he had mastered control over his emotions when he was barely a young man on his first ship.

"You require safe passage to Sweden I was told?" Captain Gibbons said, getting straight to business.  
"Yes, for myself and one other," Benford had told James that it would be safe for Synnove to travel as a woman on this ship as there would be many others like her on board, but he would not reveal that until he could more accurately judge what kind of man Captain Gibbons was. It wasn't that he didn't trust Benford's word; he had learnt that you could never be too careful in this place and one slip of the tongue could prove dangerous.  
"A yes, a young female I was told."  
James' hand twitched, his security had flown out the window, he would definitely be having words with Benford later. "I will not lie Captain Gibbons, yes, my companion is a female. I only wish to know one thing."  
"Go on."  
"Will she safe travelling as a female on your ship, or do I need to take my business elsewhere?"  
"She will be as safe as you ensure she is. My crew know better than to go against my orders Herr Norrington," Captain Gibbons said with a slight chuckle accompanying his words, "she will not be the only female on board. Just this morning I signed on twin sisters, of course they are not being accompanied, but they wish to see the world so who am I to deny them that," he paused before adding, "pleasure," with another dark chuckle, "now onto the subject of payment. Herr Benford told you how much I charge?"  
"Yes, I have your deposit with me," James said gesturing to the inside pocket of his heavy black coat.

"Excellent, Herr Benford did not lie when he said you were a trustworthy man Herr Norrington."

James simply nodded in response as he pulled out the medium sized bag of coins, something about this man was a tad unsettling, but he was the only option available. Captain Gibbons shouted something in his guttural German tone and the same door he had entered through not five minutes before was opened by a medium sized man with long dirty blonde hair. The two men conversed in their native tongue for some time before Captain Gibbons finally spoke again, "Stefan here will be counting the deposit you brought with you now. You see, so many have tried to cheat us out of our dues that it is of the utmost importance that we verify how trustworthy you are before we further negotiate. It would after all be a terrible thing if you were to try and cheat us Herr Norrington," the tone of the Captain's voice was low and icy, if James had been the type to scare easily it would have sent a shiver down his back.

A long period of silence filled the room as Stefan counted the golden coins James had given over. When he was finished more German words were exchanged quickly before Captain Gibbons spoke again, "it seems everything is in order Herr Norrington. We will be expecting the rest of the payment before you and your female companion board in fifteen days exactly. We will not tolerate it if you do not have the full payment. Do you understand Herr Norrington?"

"Yes, I understand completely. I have no intention of allowing such an opportunity pass me by."

"Excellent!" Captain Gibbons exclaimed, rising out of his seat. James followed suit and once again shook the hand that had been extended to him. With a heavy thump on the back James was escorted out of the room and back in to the bar. He left the bar shortly after he was escorted out of the back room, although he heard the call of the bottles, he would much rather get back to the Inn and tell Synnove of his success. The call of her smile was louder than the call of the bottles and she, unlike the alcohol never left him with a headache.

As James walked back to the Inn his mind was cluttered with many thoughts. He would have to take Synnove aside and reveal to her what he had planned; telling her in front of Malvina would a terrible idea as he was certain the older woman would burst into unpleasant wails and tears, something he certainly did not feel at all comfortable dealing with. He would also have to tell Gillette and Groves that they would both be leaving in a few weeks time, he wasn't sure how the pair would take the news, but James could at least find solace in the fact that neither of them would cry. His men were always made of stronger material than that.

* * *

**Herr is German for Mr.**  
**Here is a little game for you all - can anyone guess where D. Gibbons is from (it has something to do with Jack Davenport)?**


	17. Second Heartbeat

When he walked through the doors at the Inn he immediately located Synnove sweeping under and around the tables of the bar area. Malvina was at her usual place behind the bar wiping down the bar and the remaining glasses which had not been smashed by her usual customers. How she had any glasses left some nights left James wondering, but he was not so curious as to actually ask Malvina. He had strolled up to Malvina and asked that he be allowed to speak with Synnove in private, she of course had given him her all knowing look nodding her head in a sly manner and winking.

"Sure you can Norrington, but I want her to be able to continue working once you're done," and with that sentence she left the room leaving a bewildered James in her wake.

He stood absolutely still for a second before the connotations of her words finally made themselves clear to him. He felt his left eye twitch in anger, that old witch was as crude as they come and because he had failed to understand what she had said when she first said it, she got away with it. The sooner he got young, innocent Synnove away from such an influence the better he thought to himself as he made his way over to her.

"Miss Synnove?"

"Hello James, I didn't see you come in there. Is there something I can help you with?" she said, smiling her usual happy smile at him.

"Yes Miss Synove. I have something to tell you and I think it would be best if you were to sit down first," he said offering her his arm and leading her over to sit upon the nearest bar stool. As he stood directly in front of her, Synnove saw that his face was as serious as it always was, but his green eyes held a spark Synnove had not seen before. Instantly she feared for the worst, a chill creeping down her spine, and was sad to feel his arm slip away from hers. He took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Miss Synnove, it appears we will not be staying in Tortuga for much longer."

"But why? Is everything alright? You aren't in trouble with any of the locals are you? I remember you mentioning how unpopular you are with most of them."

"No, no, nothing so drastic Miss Synnove," now that he had seen her reaction, he was unsure how he should continue this conversation. Part of him wanted to draw this out for as long as he could as this had been the first time that they had been alone in such a terribly long time, or so it had felt.

"Then what is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Miss Synnove, though I find your concern endearing. I have found safe passage for you and I to Denmark. I know it is not exactly what you were hoping for, but as I understand Denmark is not so far from your homeland. I suspect that once we reach Denmark it will be a simple matter to find a ship crossing the Oresund Sea and have you back home safely."

Synnove had kissed him. She had jumped from her sitting position on the bar stool, stood on her tiptoes, flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her body had been pressed tightly against his in a desperate embrace and every curve of her body had met his with perfect placement. His arms wrapped around her waist, subtly pulling her even closer. When he had turned his face to look down at Synnove, her lips partially connected with his. She had only meant to give him a quick chaste kiss on the cheek, but his face had turned in the moment that she closed her eyes and then her lips had connected with the side of his mouth. Her lips had felt so warm against his skin and despite everything he had promised himself earlier, he found himself wishing his face had been turned further around. It had been a completely unintentional action on both parts, but that didn't lessen the embarrassment for either party. Synnove had ripped her head away from James, her normally pale cheeks coloured a violent red.

"Oh James I am so sorry! I never meant to," she paused. Synnove may have not meant to do it, but she would be outright lying if she said it wasn't something she had thought about often. She was going to add more, but she had no idea what else to say to James, so she fell silent.

"No harm, no foul Miss Synnove. I should have been more careful with the placement of my head," James said accepting all of the blame; the last thing he wanted was for Synnove to feel guilty about an action which he had rather enjoyed. It was then that he noticed his arms were still placed tightly around her waist and that she wasn't pulling away. Slowly he felt her arms trail down from around his neck at the same time that he reluctantly removed his arms from her waist. He wrapped her small fingers around his arms, keeping him close but still at a distance and James copied her movements.

"It would appear that your knowledge of Scandinavian geography is more impressive than you originally led me to believe."

"Yes, well I may have taken the liberty to look over a map in order to reaffirm my knowledge of the area," James said, unwilling to admit the fact that he really knew nothing about Scandinavia apart from the fact that they must all have charming accents like Synnove. He had simply been fortunate to procure a map on the way back from his meeting with Captain Gibbons. Perhaps procure was the wrong word for it, he had seen a man lying face down with a map sticking out of his back pocket and taken the opportunity as a sort of sign that it would be more useful in his hands than with the drunkard with his face in the mud.

Synnove let out a laugh, "or it may be because of that map I see hanging partially out of your pocket."

"It could be Miss Synnove, but if I told you all of my secrets then I would have none to take with me to the grave," he replied quickly to mask his embarrassment at being caught out.

"I am sure the grave would not mind missing your secrets. What is the name of the ship we will be travelling upon?"

"The arrangement is such that I will not be told the name until a week before we leave. Strange as it may seem it would appear that the captain wishes to remain somewhat anonymous. But that is no bother to us Miss Synnove. I have the Captain's word that you will be safe to travel upon the ship without a disguise so before we leave we must find you suitable clothing for the voyage. The Captain also informed me that there are two other females joining the ship at this stop, so you will have no lack of female companionship. I trust this is to your liking?"

Synnove nodded before saying, "James I would be happy enough in a rowboat as long as you were there, to ah, protect me of course."

They smiled at each other before the awkwardness of the moment set it. Neither of them knew how to end the conversation because neither of them wanted their time alone together to end. But neither James nor Synnove could think of anything to say, slowly they found themselves looking anywhere but at the person in front of them.

Unexpectedly there came a loud crash from the back room as Malvina gracelessly walked back into the room. "Do not worry about that little mishap there you two, some slips just can't be prevented. Now Norrington, if you are done with Synnove I must ask that you allow her to go off to bed, we have an early start in the morning and breakfast for our newest customers will not cook itself," the arrival of Malvina in the room had seen James and Synnove dart back from each other as if they had been caught doing something their parents had expressly told them not to do. Malvina had her usual all-knowing look upon her face as she watched Synnove bid James and herself goodnight before slipping off upstairs to the safety of her room.

"How much of that did you hear Mrs. Gillette?"

"Oh nothing much apart from snippets about head placement and Scandinavian geography," Malvina said, "it is strange how outrageous a conversation can seem if one only hears segments of it," Malvina would have continued with her taunting if she had not seen the tell-tale eye twitch from James.

"I assure you –" James was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"I know an honourable man such as yourself would never do anything to hurt little Synnove."

"Never in a million years! I am her guardian, I made her a promise that I would sooner die than not fulfil," James said, his anger beginning to build up not for the first time tonight. How dare this old woman think such things, let alone vocalise them straight to what she thought was the source of the problem.

Malvina let out a sigh, "I'm sorry Norrington, I meant no disrespect. It is just that I have begun to think of Synnove as one of my own. She is so innocent and trusting just like my young Bec before that despicable man got to her. I know she is not Bec, nor are you O'Brien. The thought of losing Synnove back to her own family makes me miss my little one even more," her eyes glistened with tears that she refused to cry.

"I see, Gillette told me about his younger sister when I asked him why he wished to join the Royal Navy. There is no need for you to worry for her safety. As you said, I am not O'Brien nor would I ever want to be," James said, "So you heard more than you said you did?"

"Yes, I know she is leaving," Malvina hung her head, "She believes that her Father would not have even noticed her absence, but I believe that her family will be happy to have her back. Tell me Norrington, what do you plan on doing once she is safely home?"

"I have honestly not thought that far ahead," it was an outright lie of course, James had spent many sleepless nights agonising over the thought of being separated from Synnove forever but he had resolved to do what was best for her. If that meant letting her go and forget about him, then that is what he would do.

"I know a lie when I hear one Norrington. I just hope you can be honest with her when the time comes, she doesn't deserve lies Norrington. Especially the kind of lies which stand in the way of an important truth. I trust you will know the difference by then."

Before James could get in another word Malvina sent him off to bed with a simple, "goodnight" and blew out the remaining lit candles.

As James lay in bed hours later instead of allowing him to sleep, his mind insisted on replaying the brief moment their lips had met over and over again and he desperately wished that her arms and her lips had acted out of any emotion other than gratitude. He took Malvina's words and buried them deep within his mind. They were meaningless to him now he told himself, but they may prove useful later. With that final thought he finally escaped into the clutches of the cousin of death, sleep.

* * *

**A/N Thank you to those of you who had added 'Serendipity' to your watch list or to your favourite list, also, thank you for all of the reviews.**  
** I try my best to make my spelling and grammar accurate – but I am from a country where it appears to be acceptable for even English teachers to use 'youse' as a plural of you (as in "hey guys what are youse doing tonight?"). *shakes head in disgrace***  
** Flashforward won't be playing any sort of role within this story, I was just running out of names and happened to be watching FF at the same time.**  
** Here is another little game for you – can anyone guess where I am getting the titles of my chapters from?**


	18. Miles Away

"You seriously think that after everything that has happened over the years that we would abandon you?" Gillette asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly as he began pacing along the dockside. They had been expecting that James would be looking for a way out of Tortuga, but neither of them had expected that he had already found his way out.

"Or that we would let you leave on an adventure without us?" Groves added, "Do you have any idea how long we have waited for something interesting to happen on this island and nothing happened?"

"After being here for so long, you can feel the island sucking the life out of you. Mother may be happy here, but she would be happy anywhere as long as she was free. Freedom is not enough for me, I need to do something, anything that would make me feel that I'm doing something worthwhile," Gillette said, he normally would not have been so forward with his reasoning, but he was desperate to leave Tortuga.

"But you have made names for yourselves here; this is your new home. I cannot ask you to uproot yourselves once again and follow me half way around the world," James said, although he would be happy for the extra protection they would provide, he did not want to rip them from a place where they were finally happy.

"This place has just been a distraction from what is left of our lives. We are men of action Norrington and Tortuga holds none of the action that we crave any longer," Groves said, "I fear that the longer we stay here, the harder it will be to leave. I do not want to grow old and die in this kingdom of pirates and cheats. Port Royal and Tortuga belong in my past, there is nothing left here for us Norrington, it is time to move on." Thoughts of Evelyn weighed heavily on his mind, but she had moved on and he had best do the same. There was no sense in hanging around, hoping that she would change her mind. Evelyn had always been stubborn like that, once her mind was made up, there was no changing it.

Gillette nodded in agreement, "So you best give us the name of the man you struck the deal with because we fully intend to accompany you and Miss Synnove on this voyage. One man cannot protect a woman such as Synnove by himself. You will need all of the help that you can get."

So James gave his two companions the details that they needed and before the week was through they too were set to join him and Synnove. Also before the week was through he learned the name of the ship they would all be travelling on and a bit more about the other passengers. The ships name was 'Engel Lied' which James discovered meant 'Angel Song' in German. He could not help but think it was a strange name for a ship, but he had learnt from previous experiences that it was better to not voice his opinion on the matter.

There would be many other men travelling on the ship and as a result they would all be taking shifts manning the ship. The men who were not sailors would be partnered with sailors so that they could initially learn the ropes and then they would be left to their own devices. That was another thing that struck James as odd, but once again he decided to keep his opinions to himself, even if it meant nearly biting his own tongue off in the process. Unwed and widowed women would all be sharing the one cabin as there were so few of them. James, Gillette and Groves would be sharing the cabin next to the women at James' express request. He wanted to be close enough to reach her if she was in any trouble.

James told Synnove all of the details, hoping to sooth both their nerves about the upcoming voyage. He watched as her strangely coloured eyes lit up and a smile tugged at her lips. Synnove was so happy to finally be one step closer to home, she knew James would not let her down and he had not. She was grateful that Gillette and Groves had insisted on joining them but part of her had sincerely wished that she would be back to being alone with James again. Whenever her eyes drifted over to Malvina she could see the sadness creep onto the older woman's face. Malvina had played to part of a happy woman, glad to finally be rid of the extra inhabitants of her Inn. She smiled a kind of smile that never met her eyes whenever Synnove mentioned how many days were left until she would be out on the open sea once again. But when Synnove was gone, Malvina let her mask of happiness slip, she would be sad to see the young girl go. Though she was largely useless when she had first come under Malvina's wing, Malvina liked to think that she had taught Synnove many things which would be useful when she had a family of her own. Not only was her substitute daughter leaving her, but once again, her only son was off on another adventure, with a man who had nearly gotten him killed once. Not that she would ever mention this around either her son of Norrington, but the memories weighed heavily on her mind every night before she went to bed. Malvina pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, for she knew that on the day when they all left she would need to send them off with a smile. Synnove was just the type of girl to feel guilty about leaving Malvina when she should be happy about going home. Malvina would do everything within her power to make sure that Synnove had no feelings of regret or guilt when she left Tortuga. Malvina could cry to her heart's content once they were all gone, but while they were still present she would play her part and play it well.

It was late afternoon by the time that James, Groves and Gillette returned to the Inn. Gillette was ushered out the back door by Malvina to gather some more firewood while James dashed upstairs to claim the first bath, nearly knocking Groves off the staircase in his haste. Malvina accompanied Gillette outside, no doubt telling him that he was cutting the firewood in a way that was somehow wrong. This left Groves alone with Synnove who was cleaning the table in the now empty Inn. Although Norrington and Malvina trusted the young woman completely and Gillette thought she was a charming young lady, Groves had yet to have a conversation with her alone. It seemed that Norrington was always at her side, or when they were at work and she was far away, his eyes would often stray to the direction of the Inn. Groves knew that eventually he would have to speak with Synnove and he decided that this moment was just as good as any other.

"Only one more week until you're off back home Miss Synnove, are you looking forward to the journey?" Groves approached her cautiously as she was prone to being easily frightened.

"I most certainly am excited to be going home, I know my family will have missed me during my absence, though explaining said absence will be a challenge. I am very grateful that you and Mr. Gillette decided to join us."

"So, what exactly is going on with you and Norrington? I mean, you are on a first name basis with him that is something not even the former Governor of Port Royal managed to achieve." Groves decided to cut straight to his point, usually he would have casually slipped his question into conversation, but he found he just could not be bothered with beating around the bush anymore.

"When we were trapped together in the locker I managed to convince him that he should call me Synnove and nothing else. Now that we are back amongst the presence of other people he has reverted back to calling me Miss Synnove," she said with a sad tone to her voice, "It is a shame really, but James is not the type to disregard propriety, even in a place like this. But oh I wish that he would."

Groves shot Synnove a questioning look and her hand immediately flew up to cover her mouth, "My goodness, I really should not have said that. Forgive me Mr. Groves, I did not mean to be so careless with my speech."

"It is fine; I will simply pretend that I heard nothing."

"Thank you," Synnove said with a slight bowing of her head. "I do not want James to think that I am a woman without morals Mr. Groves."

"I am sure that Norrington would never have such a low opinion of you. You are certainly very different from Miss Swan that is for sure."

"You mean Elizabeth, the woman he was once engaged to?"

"Oh yes, so I see he had mentioned her before then has he?" Groves was intrigued by this.

"Yes, but he never speaks about her much. It seems that the memory is still rather painful for him."

"Just what exactly has he told you about Miss Swan, or should I say Mrs. Turner now?"

"He mentioned that they were engaged to be married, but her heart lay elsewhere so he set her free. James never said a bad word about her, but he had a few, less than kind words to describe the pirates she had chosen to associate with."

"That sounds just like Norrington, telling only half of the story in such a diplomatic way," Groves snorted, only Norrington could tell that story and still have Mrs. Turner come off sounding like a good and honourable woman."

"You mean he lied?

"Oh no Miss Synnove, he merely told you the story in a way which would allow Mrs. Turner to keep her lost dignity."

"I am not sure what you mean Mr. Groves."

"Norrington proposed to her and then that same night she was kidnapped by the pirates of the Black Pearl. He toiled away, day and night, often going without sleep, planning a course which would allow the Port Royal navy to successfully rescue Mrs. Turner. In the meantime, William Turner, an orphan whom had previously been rescued by Norrington during the crossing from England, broke a notorious pirate out of jail, stole the fastest ship in the fleet, damaged our other vessel almost beyond repair, and escaped under the guise of rescuing Mrs. Turner."

"Yes, James did mention both William Turner and the pirate whom he set free; I believe the name was Sparrow?"

"Exactly, but that is not even the worst of it. After Norrington rescued her from the solo company of that exact same pirate, she did not thank Norrington for his hard work, no, she begged him to save William Turner!" the rage was growing in Groves' voice. "She promised Norrington that she would marry him if he did this one thing for her, as if he had not moved heaven and earth for her already!"

Synnove placed an arm of Groves' shoulder, "I have a feeling that this rage you are suffering from had nothing to do with injustices against James, but more those done against yourself. Is my assumption correct?"

"Women are all the same! They act coy and innocent until they have you within their grip. Once you are so in love with them that you are blinded to everything else, they rip the rug right from underneath your feet. They turn from the one you fell in love with, the one you cannot live without, to being the sole source of pain. Being without them is a slow, torturous death and being with them is impossible," with this final outburst, Groves began to sob uncontrollably. He tried to hide his face with his sleeve, but the sobs wracked his body regardless.

"I assure you Mr. Groves; I am not like those women. I would never hurt James, never," she whispered, but Groves could not hear her over the sound of his own lamentations.

Groves had dropped to his knees by now and Synnove had dropped as well, to comfort him. She slipped her arms around his shoulders and rubbed his back awkwardly. She had comforted her younger brothers when they were upset, but when they had reached their mid teenage years they had either refused to cry, or refused to allow her to see. Synnove look around desperately, hoping that Malvina would come in and take Groves away, Malvina would know what to do with him better than she did. As the volume of Groves' sobbing increased so did the feeling on unease within Synnove. She didn't know what to do with the crying man and she was becoming more and more flustered by the moment. Then suddenly something broke inside of her and tears made their own streams down her face, the sounds of her cries decidedly quieter than Groves' but they were audible nonetheless. Synnove had no specific idea as to why she was crying, there were many reasons for her to cry, but pinning just one down at the moment was proving impossible.


	19. In a Piece of Heaven

The nightmares were still plaguing her slumber every night and only Malvina and her impatience to begin working had saved her from being dragged deeper into the rushing darkness. Her arms and legs still bared the imprints of phantom netting and fishing hooks and the feeling of ice cold water in her bones stayed with her for most of the day. At times she was afraid to sleep because she feared that whatever monster lurked within the depths would finally catch her and never let her go. Of course she knew that this was impossible, but this did little to alleviate her fear. The only reason she got any sleep at night was due to exhaustion from working all day and most of the night.

She also missed her brothers so terribly. Without her at home little Soren would have no one there to read him his favourite bedtime story, for she knew her older brothers would not have the patience to do it in her absence. Synnove worried constantly that something bad would happen to any of her brothers whilst she was gone. She was the only thing standing between the twins and whatever mischievous plans they had come up with. The plans they came up with were always brilliant, but they lacked common sense when it came to the repercussions of their actions, who knew what crazy things they were doing right at this very moment. Konrad would be fine, he always was the happy-go-lucky sort and Synnove did not foresee that changing due to her absence. Poor Sigurd would be silently struggling to keep everything together with Konrad's help. She knew that Malvina had not her not to worry about them, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not shake them from her mind for very long.

Then of course there was James, her hero and protector. She had been so excited when he told her he had found her passage home, but she knew that the closer she got to home, the further she would be from James. Synnove had become so accustomed to James' presence that the thought of him leaving her once she reached Sweden ripped at her heart. She knew that it was not fair for her to wish that they would stay together forever, but now she could not picture life without him. She had promised him that she would never leave him, but he had never promised her the same thing. He had his own life to live once he was free from his self-imposed duty and she would feel even more terrible if her selfishness kept him from living that life.

Arms wrapped themselves around Synnove's shoulders and gently pulled her back from Groves. It did not take long for Synnove to realise that it was Malvina who was now holding her tightly and trying to shush her. Seeing that Malvina's attempts were unsuccessful James gently extended his arms to Synnove and watched as Malvina pushed her towards him. James pulled Synnove closer against him so that her head was resting against his chest and his arms were around her waist, where it felt like they belonged. Synnove's arms found their way around James' back and she clung to the fabric of his shirt for dear life as she continued to cry, this time a little more quietly. She nuzzled her face into his chest as he rubbed a circular pattern into her back. Synnove breathed in James' sent and felt herself slowly relax against him until he was supporting almost all of her weight.

"Did Groves say something to upset you Miss Synnove?" James asked with a voice full of concern. He cupped her chin lightly and forced her head up so that their eyes met. The colouring of her eyes was much darker than usual and they appeared to be swirling in a similar pattern to what he had witnessed during the hurricane.

Synnove chocked back her tears before saying, "no James, it is just that when he started crying I could not stop myself from joining. It sounds so terribly ridiculous I know."

"Nonsense," Malvina interrupted, "one of these poor souls was bound to fall apart eventually, better that it happens now than when you are all out at sea. Norrington, take her upstairs to bed and make sure she is comfortable. Synnove dear you may have the rest of the night off, I will deal with Groves."

"But there is still work to be done Malvina!" Synnove exclaimed, not wanting to cause more of an embarrassing scene than she just had.

"Do not worry about it little one, just get yourself some rest. Those dark circles under your eyes are getting bigger, some sleep will do you a lot of good," Malvina said in a motherly tone."

"But Malvina!"

"No more arguing young lady. Norrington, if you would."

James bent his body forward and scooped Synnove's legs into his arms so that he was holding her in the way that grooms hold their brides as they cross the threshold. Synnove's arms made their way around his neck as he carried her effortlessly up the stairs and down the hall to her room which was now right next to Malvina's.

"I am so sorry James, I caused such an unnecessary ruckus," Synnove said quietly as she buried her face in James' chest once again, trying to hide the red blush of embarrassment on her face.

"There is nothing for you to worry about Miss Synnove. No one else apart from Malvina, Groves and I were present to witness it and I assure you, Groves will be far too mortified with his own actions to worry about yours. Could you please open the door, I'm afraid I cannot reach."

Synnove removed an arm from its position around James' neck and fumbled at the handle before the door finally sprung open. James stepped forward and nudged the door open the rest of the way with his foot. Once he was through the door he kicked it closed behind him and placed Synnove gently down on the bed.

"Well, I think it would be best if I left you now to get some sleep like Malvina recommended," James said, an air of nervousness touching his usually confident voice. James made a move closer towards the door but before he could continue Synnove interrupted him.

"Wait! Please don't leave yet James. I am not tired in the least and I will not be able to sleep," Synnove exclaimed reaching out to grab his sleeve.

Reluctantly James gave in to Synnove's pleading and took up residence in the seat beside her bed, "this is very inappropriate I am sure you know Miss Synnove," he said with a raised eyebrow. And oh the things Malvina will say to me once she discovers I am still up here James thought to himself.

After the initial awkwardness of the situation had worn away the pair were soon conversing with ease. Synnove told James about her concerns for her family and he was very sympathetic, taking much the same stance as Malvina on the matter which made a smile grow on her face. James and Synnove talked endless into the night, James was even amazed to find that he possessed the ability to make her laugh with his wit. It was a genuine laugh as well, not the kind of laugh that ladies of court give when they are trying to catch the eye of a potential suitor. For perhaps the first time in his life, James felt completely at ease with another person. Before his very eyes the sadness that had been present in Synnove's eyes had disappeared and they regained their bright sparkle. The sun dropped the rest of the way out of the sky and the starlight began to enter the room through the open curtains. James only moved from his seat beside Synnove in order to close the curtains and light the solitary lamp on the bedside table. Although Synnove told him not to bother with the curtains as she would do it, he refused to let her get up from the bed, she was after all, meant to be sleeping James told her with a raised eyebrow. Synnove responded with a rolling of her eyes but stopped once she was that James would not budge on his decision. Before they knew it Synnove was letting out a yawn of exhaustion, though she did try to hide it discreetly behind her hand, James knew she was getting too tired to stay awake for much longer. He stayed with her until her eyes finally drifted closed and her body slightly slumped against the headboard of the bed. James watched her sleep in that uncomfortable position for a while before he finally stood and picked Synnove up. He could feel the warm weight of her body pressed against him and could feel the exhaling of her breath against his skin as he cradled her against his body. He pulled the covers away from the bed and placed her on the sheets beneath before covering her once again. James tried to make sure that she was comfortable but noticed that the back of her neck was resting against something rigid and sharp. He carefully pulled her head up and grabbed the offending item which turned out to be a pendent attached to a necklace that James did not know she wore. He swung the tear shaped pendant around so that it hung on the pillow beside her hand; it had a delicate silver chain and a simple silver border around what appeared to be a large tear shaped sapphire stone. James would have to ask her about the necklace some other time, but that would of course beg the question of what he had been doing whilst she had been asleep. Not that he had been doing anything disreputable, but still, he did not like the way that question could go, especially if Malvina was around to eavesdrop on the conversation. James brushed the hair away from her pale face and he noticed that Malvina had been right when she mentioned the dark circles under Synnove's eyes. He could not help but wonder if perhaps she was coming down with some sort of tropical illness. She was from a very cold country after all and this was the swelteringly hot Caribbean, she had been given no time to adjust to the drastic change in temperatures. Hopefully once they were at sea she would brighten up again. He caressed her cheek with his thumb lightly, taking a secret pleasure from the feeling of her soft skin against his work calloused fingers. He could have delighted in the feeling for hours but when Synnove let out a small sigh, he jumped away, as if her skin had burned him. He had taken such an unprofessional liberty against her, something he promised himself that he would never do. No matter how hard James tried to fight it, the urge to touch more of her skin burned within him. As he continued to stare at her, her eyes fluttered open, but she was neither awake nor asleep completely, she was in that wonderful state in between where she could say anything and not be held responsible for her words. Synnove mumbled a few words in that James could not understand so he assumed they must have been in her native tongue. She reached out towards him and he knelt beside her on the floor, allowing her to entwine her fingers with his as she continued muttering softly. When she finally stopped muttering and the grip of her fingers loosened James moved to leave and let her sleep in peace. He was almost up when her grip tightened on him again, her eyes slightly open, "please do not leave me min kärlek." The tone of her voice was so forlorn and upsetting to James that he immediately resumed his position on the floor, holding tightly on to her hand and refused to leave until she was properly asleep. He did not think that he could deal with more of her tears, seeing her crying earlier had been strangely painful enough to last him for a very long time. "Goodnight Synnove," James said, following Synnove in to sleep listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing.

* * *

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favourites or their alerts list!

Sorry for the lateness, I've been sick all week (wonderful) and discovered I'm allergic to sea salt … seriously the most ridiculous allergy every created.

Norrieo - Captain Jack Sparrow will most certainly be making an appearance, but it will be a while before that happens (I never expected Tortuga to take so long to escape from).


	20. The Answers Were So Crystal Clear

Slightly earlier than usual in the morning Synnove woke up to the sound of someone snoring lightly next to her. Her eyes widened once they came to rest upon the figure of James Norrington leaning against her bed with his hand still holding on to hers. Synnove smiled as she remembered how he had cheered her up so well last night and was amazed that he had stayed simply because she had asked him to stay. She hoped that he would not ask her what min kärlek meant because there was no way that she could talk her way out of calling him her love. Synnove was just thankful that she had slipped into speaking a language that James could not understand. Yes, she had admitted to herself that she loved James Norrington, the man who was risking everything he had for to ensure her safety. He was a man of undeniably good character, never saying a bad word about the woman who had so clearly torn his heart in two. He was a hero amongst a world filled with villains, what made it better was that he was her hero. He had promised to protect her, not any other woman, just her. The moment when James had made that promise to her, Synnove had never felt more important in her life. She could list the things she loved about James until she was blue in the face, but she sincerely doubted that Malvina would appreciate listening to her prattle on. The only thing she did not like about James was his uncanny ability to sneak up on her during work and give her dreadful frights. A simple 'good evening' spoken softly next to her ear would force an embarrassingly high pitched squeak from her lips and make her jump nearly through the roof. If only he didn't sneak up on her she would be able to savour such moments. However, once James saw Synnove's reaction he took great delight in repeating his actions making her squeal. Synnove hoped that he would never learn about just how terribly ticklish she was, not that he would ever do anything as improper as to tickle a lady, but the mild fear was still present.

It wasn't until she heard the chirping of birds that Synnove fully realised that she had slept through the entire night without any hint of a nightmare brewing in the back of her mind. For the first time since she had returned to this world the crushing darkness had not entered her dreams, she had finally slept through a night without an interruption and she had James to thank for that. His presence had scared away her nightmares. Synnove gently squeezed James' hand before closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. If James was to wake up and find himself like this he would be mortified beyond belief, it would be even worse if she was aware that he had stayed by her side all night. So in order to save James some embarrassment she would pretend like she knew nothing about it. The plan was perfect, apart from the fact that she forgot about Malvina and her usual morning routine of bursting into Synnove's room and rudely awakening her for the start of a new day.

As if on cue the door was thrown open and in stepped Malvina, Synnove expected a shocked gasp to be emitted from Malvina's mouth, but there was no sound apart from the clicking of her shoes against the wooden floorboards. Synnove lay as still as possible as Malvina walked around the bed and opened the curtain allowing the sun to stream in. Malvina tutted, trying to decide how best to wake Norrington up so that he could get off to work and she could get Synnove up for the day. Malvina would have loved to have torn strips off him for being in the same room as a young unwed woman, but she knew that he would not have stayed if Synnove had asked him to leave. She would also have loved to have teased him about being so sweet as to hold her hand during the night, but she decided against it. This morning would be awkward enough for the former admiral without her input, she smiled to herself. Should could be incredibly nice when she decided to, it was just that most of the time it was more entertaining to push at Norrington's buttons than it was to simply let him be. She walked over to his side and nudged at his side with her foot.

"Come on you, wake up," Malvina said, punctuating each word with a somewhat gentle kick to the ribs.

James jolted straight upright, his unoccupied hand flying to his side, "damn you, you old!" James exclaimed, stopping himself before he said anything that would get him thrown out. His sides were still tender from the beating he had received little over a week ago and he knew Malvina had deliberately targeted that area to cause him the most pain. His lip curled into a snarl as he glared up at Malvina about to say something else to her in his anger.

"Do not say another word Mr. Norrington, you will wake Synnove and I am sure that that is the last thing you would want. I'll be back in a few minutes to wake Synnove up properly so you have some time to disentangle yourself and make a swift exit. My son and Groves are waiting for you downstairs, so do not keep them waiting for too long," and with that Malvina swept from the room leaving behind a rather bewildered James Norrington.

James hauled himself none to delicately up from the floor, one hand still entwined with Synnove's, trying to figure out a way to get her to let go without waking her up. He noticed that her grip was rather tight for someone who was asleep, but then again, he had never actually held the hand of a sleeping woman before so he had nothing with which to make a comparison. He pried his fingers away from hers in the gentlest way that he could, rubbing his fingers across her knuckles. Her grip slowly released and her hand dropped back down upon the bed. When James was sure that no one else was around he leant forward, bringing his face right next to hers. His heartbeat was pounding so loudly in his ears that he was sure she would wake from the noise. James moved closer until his lips were pressed against her cheek. It was warm and soft and better than he expected it to be. It was after all, just a simple stolen kiss on the cheek, but it made him feel alive again in a part he thought was long dead. Ever since her soft lips had meet his cheek in the accidental half kiss he had been consumed with thoughts about what it would feel like if it were to happen again. He had become so distracted with thoughts of her lips that all throughout last night he had fought against his urge to lay in bed next to her while she slept. He had wanted to kiss her tears away, not wipe them away with a spare handkerchief he found in his pocket. However, he had to settle for keeping his professional distance, but even that professional line had been crossed when he spent the night in the same room as her. He was quickly losing his grip on his propriety and his sense of decorum around her. James knew it was not her fault, she could not help the fact that he found her so unceasingly attractive. It wasn't her fault that everything she did caught his attention in a way that not even Elizabeth had. Sure, Elizabeth had caught his attention more often than not, but he knew now she caught his attentions for the wrong reason. He had wanted to make a proper lady out of Elizabeth and lock her away from the dangers of the world, but she had craved danger and thrown him aside in favour of far off lands. Synnove was already a proper young lady who knew the dangers of the world and had no want to experience any more. If Synnove craved the same life as Elizabeth then she had done well to hide this ambition from James. He told himself that he was only her protector, someone who had come in to her life and saved her from what fate had thrown her way. He was nothing more than a guarantee of safe transportation and he had to remind himself of that or he would fall victim to the promises of love he found in her eyes. James had fallen in love with Synnove against everything that he told himself, he could not stop his fall. He could get by in stolen moments like this, ones where she would never be any the wiser to his feelings, ones where he could maintain his dignity afterwards. If she were to discover his love then he was sure to lose what he had come to gain in the short time they had come to know one another. James knew her well enough to guess that she would let him down easily, in a much gentler way than Elizabeth had for sure. Her bright eyes would fill with pity, much like Elizabeth's had and from then on, every time they would meet Synnove would no longer see him in the same way. If she knew he loved her, she would no longer feel safe, she would only feel pity. James Norrington did not need pity, he needed love. James was sure that she did not love him and yet, if he was asked why, he would have no reason to give. He just felt deep in the pit of his stomach and at the bottom of his bruised heart that there was no way Synnove could love him. She was a gentle young foreign beauty and he was a much older washed up has-been. She would love someone closer to her age, strong, with his future mapped out perfectly for him. He could offer her no such security for the future; he had not even planned what he would do once he had made sure she was safely home. No, she could never love him.

With that final thought, he placed another gentle kiss on her cheek and swept from the room in his usual straight-backed manner. He would never kiss her upon the lips, as much as he wanted to know what they felt like beneath his own, he would never take advantage of her sleeping form like that.

Synnove felt the tickle of his breath against her cheek long before she felt his lips. It was almost as if he had spent an eternity considering if he was going to go through with his actions. When he finally kissed her on the cheek she had to fight to hold a smile back from her face. She felt his beard brush against her causing a strangely pleasant sensation to prickle across her skin. He hovered over her for what felt like an eternity and she sincerely hoped that he was considering kissing her on the lips, but she knew he would never do such a thing. He was far too concerned with propriety to do something like that, especially with the possibility of Malvina returning any moment. She fought the urge to open her eyes and turn her head so that his lips would finally meet with hers. Oh how she wished he would throw propriety to the wind and indulge himself in her lips, but she knew James would do no such thing. She knew she would never make the first move and kiss him either. A man could commit such an act, and ones far more improper against a woman and be forgiven, a woman would be marked as a harlot for the rest of her life and many times would be cast out of her family. It was far more improper for a woman to give in to such desires than it was for a man and for that fact Synnove could never claim James as her own.

Synnove was startled out of her depressing contemplation by the sound of Malvina thumping into the room, humming a tuneless song.

"I know you're not asleep little one, you may have fooled Norrington with your pretending, but you will not fool me so easily. I am a mother you know; nothing escapes me after all of these years."

"Good morning Malvina," Synnove said, sitting upright in bed with a smile plastered to her face.

"That is an awfully large smile for someone who despises early mornings the way you usually do," she said pointing an accusing finger to Synnove.

"I had no nightmares last night Malvina, I slept all night long and it was wonderful!"

"Are you sure that is the only thing you enjoyed last night little one?"

Synnove's cheeks flushed a telltale red and she avoided Malvina's sharp gaze. "I do not know what you are talking about Malvina," she said trying to sound as innocent as she truly was.

"I am sure you don't," Malvina replied raising one eyebrow in a questioning gesture. "You can tell me little one. Soon you will not have any female companions to converse like this with, so you may as well get it all out of your system now."

Synnove bit her lip; Malvina did have a good point. Although James had said there would be other women on the journey with them, she was terrible at making friends with people around her own age and she knew sharing a room with them would be difficult, let alone sharing her feelings. Malvina had accepted everything Synnove had already told her with an air of motherly concern minus the judgement and Synnove was going to miss her terribly.

"Come with me to my room dear, I have a parting gift that I wish for you to have. While you look over it, you can tell me everything on your mind," Malvina took Synnove by the hand and hauled her out of the room behind her.

"I originally had it made for my little Bec, but she cannot wear it where she is," Malvina said moving towards the wardrobe in the corner of her room. She pulled open the doors and turned back to Synnove, telling her to close her eyes and wait for the surprise. Once she saw that Synnove had obeyed her she pulled the item out of the wardrobe and placed it in Synnove's arms. "You can open them now."

Lying in Synnove's arms was the most beautiful dress that she had ever laid eyes upon. It was a light ice blue colour with white lace trimmings around the sleeves and neckline. Intricately embroidered rose vines of white thread climbed up the bodice. It was quite possibly the most beautiful dress Synnove has ever laid eyes upon, the maker must have been an amazingly talented craftsperson.

"Oh Malvina, this is exquisite."  
"Think of this as a farewell present little one."

Synnove could not respond, her eyes were full with tears of gratitude and she threw herself into Malvina's awaiting arms. "Now really little one, you must pull yourself together, all this crying will make your face blotchy and your nose run," she waved her finger in front of Synnove's face, "men will run away from that sort of thing."

Synnove let out a laugh, ceasing her tears, "I wouldn't want to scare James away before we have even left!"

"Ah yes, the subject of Norrington seems to be your favourite doesn't it child?"

Synnove blushed, but did not deny Malvina's claim, "I suppose you are right."

"Try the dress on behind the screen over there, I wish to know if it fits you properly then we can make adjustments if necessary. And while you do that you can tell me just what I interrupted earlier."

As Synnove struggled into the dress she told Malvina all that had happened since she had sent Synnove to bed the night before. If Malvina was honest with herself, she would have to say that she was a little disappointed that nothing else had happened between the pair. Not that she wished for them to jump straight into bed with one another, but she wished that Norrington was a little more forthcoming with his intentions. Synnove was a shy wee thing at the best of times and would need all of the encouragement she could get. She could plainly see that Norrington cared for Synnove, and Synnove's actions mirrored that same affection. Although Malvina did not quite understand the appeal of Norrington, for the man was far to regimented for her own tastes, not to mention several years too young, she recognised the spark that inhabited Synnove's eyes whenever Norrington was around. She looked at Norrington the way Malvina had once looked upon her own husband, before what she felt was his untimely death. It was a look of complete devotion, of love that would most certainly stand the test of time. It was also the kind of love that meant that when one inevitably died the other would never find a love that would equal; the one left behind would carry on alone until the day they could be reunited with the one they loved. It was both an amazing and tragic kind of love and she did not envy the heartbreak that would one day tear them apart. It was a terribly depressing thing to think, but the more that Malvina thought of young love, the more she was reminded what she had lost and what she had become as a result. Malvina shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts, it would do no one any good for her to be frowning and scowling at the customers all day long. She shook herself from her thoughts just as Synnove stepped out from behind the screen. Malvina let out a small gasp at Synnove's drastic change of appearance. Her long black hair was free from the confines of tight band and hung in limp curls around her face and down her back. "You certainly do make a better woman than you do a young man. No wonder Norrington wants to keep you so close all the time. Come closer child and we'll get this corset tied properly."

Synnove's eye twitched at the mention of tightening the corset, but she knew by now that it was easier to do as Malvina said rather than fight against her.

"Take a deep breath now and brace yourself." Synnove gripped onto the chair before her and did as she was told as she waited for the inevitable pain of the pulling of the corset strings. When that was finished Malvina turned her around to get a proper look at how the dress sat on her body. Synnove was a bit shorter than her Bec and as a result the dress would have to be taken up, but only by a little and Malvina could easily make the adjustments before they left. Apart from that, everything else was perfect; Synnove was quite the picture, but also quite naïve when it came to the less than honourable intentions of men. Norrington would have to keep a very close eye on her if he wished to keep her safe.

"Thank you so much Malvina, I do not think I have ever worn such a finely crafted dress before in my life. However will I repay you?"

"There is no need to pay me little one, seeing this dress finally being used by a young woman is payment enough for me," Malvina dug around in the wardrobe again for a few moments before dragging out a box and presenting it to Synnove, "these are the matching shoes. We can't have you running about barefooted now can we?"

Synnove slipped her feet into the ice blue coloured shoes and was amazed to see that they fit her perfectly. She blinked a few times before saying, "they fit."

"Do not sound so surprised dear, I would not have offered them to you if I did not think they would fit. I have an eye for these things you know."

A knock came at the door followed by Gillette's voice calling "mother? Are you decent? It is time for breakfast and there is nothing to eat."

Malvina rolled her eyes at the door, "honestly those men would starve if it wasn't for all our hard work. Heaven forbid they should have to fend for themselves for one morning."

Synnove laughed at the comment and made a move to return behind the screen in order to change back into her more suitable working clothes. "Do not worry about changing just yet, why not let the men get used to seeing you as the woman you are for a while?"

Before Synnove could protest they were interrupted once again. "Mother? Are you listening to me?"

"Of course darling, wait a moment and we shall be right out."

Malvina pushed Synnove towards the door before she could say anything and opened it, straight into her son's nose.

"Ouch!" Gillette cried out clutching his face.

"Really my boy that is what you get for standing so close to the door. You really should be more careful," Malvina said sweeping past her injured son without a care in the world, "now be a dear and escort Synnove downstairs for me, I do not want her tripping on the dress before it even has a chance to be seen."

It was at that moment that Gillette finally looked up and noticed that Synnove certainly made a better woman than she did a young man. Gillette certainly thought that she was a pretty wee thing, but she was too small for his tastes. He liked his women with a rounder figure, a little more meat on their bones. Synnove looked far too bony in places and she was a tad on the short size, next to Norrington she looked even smaller of course, but that did not seem to bother either of them. Her eyes scared Gillette, the way that they seemed to never be the same colour twice threw him. He knew it was impossible for eyes to change colour, but hers seemed to go from an ice blue, much like her dress, to a churning dark green-blue. When her eyes held the darker colour it reminded him terribly of the hurricane. The same hurricane that woke him up every so often, drenched in sweat in the middle of the night. Despite all of his mother's jokes about forcing Gillette and Synnove together, Gillette would never be interested in Synnove, staring into those eyes would be a far too harrowing experience day in and day out and for that reason, amongst others, Norrington was welcome to her. Gillette extended his arm to Synnove and guided her slowly down the stairs behind his mother.

At one of the vacant table downstairs James sat with his back to the stairs and a far-off look etched onto his face. He was thinking about Synnove and hoping that Malvina had not told her anything about where she had found him this morning. If he just kept his back straight and his head held high he could pretend that nothing happened and maintain some of his dignity for the remainder of their stay in Tortuga. Groves, who sat across from James wondered what was going through his friends mind. With the constantly changing emotions flickering across his face Groves began to worry. But Groves of course had problems of his own to worry about. He would have to face Miss Synnove after everything that he had said to her the night before; no doubt it would cause him far more embarrassment than her. He was not looking forward to the awkwardness of their meeting, but he was looking forward to breakfast, so he resolved to make an appearance, rather than cower away in his room until he thought she would have forgotten about the situation. He hoped the saying 'ignorance is bliss' was true to its word because he was about to find out very soon.

The clicking of shoes upon the wooden floorboards announced the arrival of other people into the room. It allowed both men to shake themselves from their thoughts before they had to face Malvina and the constantly cheerful tone she brought with her. From his position facing the stairs Groves was the first to see the young woman walking down the stairs aided by Gillette. He rose from his seat instantly and bowed to the young woman, as was the proper conduct of a gentleman. James watched Groves with a raised eyebrow before turning around himself and seeing what the fuss was about.

"No need to stand on my account Groves," Malvina said jokingly, knowing full well that the poor man did not recognise Synnove as she was now.

James decided that whatever it was, he had better follow Groves' lead and stand as well, least Malvina find some reason to criticise his actions later. He found he liked the older woman much more the less that she talked. As James turned he too saw what had caught Groves' attention, except unlike Groves, he recognised the young woman on Gillette's arm. James stood with his mouth partially open because although he had seen Synnove without her disguise before, he had become used to seeing as her in the less glamorous light as a bar keep.

She certainly was sight, with her pale white skin and midnight black hair in stark contrast to one another. When he saw the nervous smile upon her face he smiled at her, as if attempting to tell her that there was nothing for her to be afraid of. His attempt seemed to work as the nervous smile was replaced by a genuine smile of happiness. Gillette on the other hand did not look so happy, he was after all, standing between James and Synnove, a position that he realised would be a very painful place to be if James ever decided to claim Synnove as his. Not that Gillette thought that would be happening anytime soon if he knew his superior the way he thought he did.

It was at times like these when it seemed to hit James the most just how much younger than him Synnove was. Not that she looked like a child when she was dressed up, far from it in fact, her womanly assets as he decided he would call them, but only in his own mind, were certainly not that of a child. The more he thought along this vein, the more he silently reprimanded himself for such deplorable thoughts. He could blame the influence of Tortuga for the path of his thoughts, but he knew it was not Tortuga's fault any more than it was Synnove's fault for looking the way she did. The problem laid with him and him alone. Although they had not exchanged ages with one another, it was obvious that she was certainly not much older than the preferred marriageable age. She could certainly not be any older than Mrs. Turner, in fact, he was most certain that she was younger, which made the thoughts he had about her all the more inappropriate.

"Close your mouth or the flies will get in," Malvina said quietly as she walked past James towards the kitchen.

"Come along Synnove, you can still help me with serving breakfast even though you are a proper lady at the moment." Synnove silently followed Malvina past the men and into the safety of the kitchen. She was too nervous at the moment to make more eye contact than was necessary with James or the others for that matter.

"Wait, that was Miss Synnove?" Groves asked slowly, trying to place the new version of Synnove next to the one he knew in his mind.

"Yes," Gillette replied with a strange sound to his voice.

"What happened to your face?" Groves asked, seemingly over the shock.

"Mother hit me with the door."

"It was your fault for standing so close to it in the first place!" Malvina shouted from the kitchen.

Malvina's outburst was the one thing that broke the tension that had inexplicably built up in the room since Synnove entered. Laughter filled the room and it seemed that everything that had happened last night to build walls between the group had broken down. Certain occurrences would never be mentioned again, as was the way of things. As much as it would hurt James and Synnove, neither of them would bring up last night, out of propriety and an underlying sense of fear of rejection. It would be far too difficult to handle, especially with only a week left until they left Tortuga for the open seas. Best not rock the boat before it had even left the dock.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who likes this story enough to add it to their favourite lists and their alerts. Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed it so far. The reviews are really what keep me going!  
This part is longer than usual as a celebration of the fact that part 20 comes out on my 20th birthday (oh how strangely old I feel right now).  
I saw the new POTC movie on Monday – has anyone else seen it yet? I thought it was brilliant even though it is missing James and Cutler (I did so love the little tyrant).


	21. All the Colours I See In Your Eyes

James walked along the dock to where the 'Engel Lied' was docked. The ship towered proudly above all others that shared the same dock. There was no doubt in James' mind that the ship before him was easily larger than either the 'Dauntless' or the 'Black Pearl', but it was nowhere near the size of the few Chinese ships he had seen in his life. This ship looked as if it could easily carry more than one hundred people, but he hoped that would not be the case. Close quarters with complete strangers was not how he wished to spend the next three months or more. He had been summoned down to the docks by one of Captain Gibbons' men, his lip had curled into a snarl when he had been summoned, he may no longer be an Admiral or the scourge of piracy, but he deserved more respect than what he was being shown. Despite his distaste for the way Gibbons seemed to run things he had made his way to the ship at his earliest convenience, he could ill afford to turn the Captain against him before the journey was even underway. He was not to make the final payment until the night of departure, but that was not until another week from now, so he determined that this could not be the reason for the summons. Captain Gibbons struck James as an oddly eccentric man during the few meetings he had held with the man. Perhaps this meeting, like the others was just another strange flight of fancy which James had to endure. The Captain was certainly not the usual kind of person he was accustomed to sailing with, but at least he had not been reduced to sailing with pirates once again. As James walked up the gangplank to the ship his thoughts were interrupted by a deep German accent calling out to him from behind.

"Ah Herr Norrington, I see you found your way here unharmed."

"Yes Captain Gibbons, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

"Straight to business as always I see Herr Norrington," he raised the bottle of rum he had clutched tightly in his hand, "can I offer you some?"

"No thank you Captain."

Stefan grunted from behind the Captain, making his presence known and Captain Gibbons chuckled under his breath, "ever the working man aye Herr Norrington?"

"That could be said, yes,"

"Ever the diplomat it would appear as well," Captain Gibbons set the bottle down on the handrail of his ship and crossed his arms over his chest, "I will cut straight to it then. Tomorrow night, we shall be having a banquet in the ship's dining hall. It will allow our guests time to acquaint themselves with one another before we set sail. I will expect you to inform your travelling companions of this arrangement."

"Alright," James said, this was certainly not what he had been expecting, but then again, James did not know what to expect when he had been called to this ship, "if that is all then, I shall be returning home now."

"Yes Herr Norrington, that is all." Captain Gibbons waved his hand in the air, making a dismissing motion, "you may go."

"Goodnight Captain Gibbons, Stefan," James nodded to both men and made his way down the gangplank, hastening back to the Inn. He knew he had been right when he first thought that the Captain was a strange one, but now was certainly not the time to be having doubts about sailing with the man.

When James finally made it back to the Inn he noticed it was oddly quiet. As he pushed through the door he noticed that the all but a few candles had been blown out, the tables were cleared and the floor was completely clean. He frowned; it was obviously much later than he originally had thought it was. Shaking his head at the strange loss of time he continued walking amongst the tables, making his way to the staircase.

"Good to see you finally made it home Norrington," Malvina's voice said behind him, the sound came as a shock, but he didn't allow any visible sign of being startled be seen, "everyone else is already. I sent Synnove up to bed a few moments ago, seems she didn't want to go to sleep without knowing you were safe. Knock on her door and let her know you're alright before you go to bed. Nearly wore a whole in the floor she did, pacing back and forth."

"Yes of course, I will let her know I'm back. Goodnight Malvina."

"Goodnight Norrington," Malvina said blowing out all but one of the remaining candles before pushing past James and leading the way up the stairs. She nodded towards Synnove's door before continuing on to her own. James waited until Malvina had closed her door before knocking upon Synnove's.

"Miss Synnove," he whispered, "are you still awake?"

"James? Yes, yes, I am awake. Hold on a moment please," she said, clambering out of bed. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for something to throw over her nightclothes. Her eyes landed upon James' admiral coat, which she still had not returned to him and in all fairness, he had not asked for it to be returned so she could hardly be held accountable. Whenever she put it on, it reminded her of the few times he had held her body close to his, in his embrace was the one place she felt truly safe and so she had decided to keep the coat until he expressly asked for it back. A day she hoped would never come, but knew it eventually would. Synnove threw the coat on and hastily did some of the buttons up, enough to allow her to retain her modesty, but not enough so that removing the coat would take forever after he had left.

James stood on the other side of the door, his hands clasped together behind his back in the darkness of the hallway. As Synnove's door was thrown open, he was thrown into the light and was left blinking for a few moments before everything came back in to focus. James allowed his eyes to quickly roam Synnove's body and found himself conflicted over her appearance. He was strangely proud to find her small body enveloped in his coat, her arms lost in the sleeves and her hair slightly dishevelled. Yet he was also somewhat displeased to see that so much of her body was hidden by the overly large coat, he had enjoyed seeing her in a dress and now the dress was gone. But her bright blue eyes looked straight up at him and her smile lit up her face and he knew she could be wearing anything and he would not care, as long as that smile stayed in place. Synnove stood in the doorway awkwardly grasping at the bottoms of her sleeves and rolling them about in her fingers.

Suddenly James had no idea what to say to her, the best he could do was state the obvious, "uh, Malvina suggested that I inform you that I am back now."

"I see," Synnove let out a small giggle at James' behaviour.

James frowned, not at Synnove, but at his own actions, he was behaving like a child, no, it was worse than behaving like a child. He was behaving like a nervous teenager talking to a girl for the first time. He was disgusted at the lack of professionalism, but also slightly amused at the fact that one look at those wide blue eyes could crumble years of strict military training. When he eventually left her with her family in Sweden, he would have to be careful not to look back at those eyes or he would never be able to leave.

"The Captain of the ship we will be sailing on called me to his ship, why he did not call Gillette and Groves as well I do not know."

"Nothing is wrong is it?" Synnove titled her head to the side as she asked the question.

"No, of course not Miss Synnove. Quite the opposite in fact, Captain Gibbons has invited us all to a banquet on the ship tomorrow night."

"Is that so?" Synnove asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, it strikes me too as a little odd, but attendance is mandatory, so we had best make an appearance, at least for a while. The Captain claims it will give the other passengers and the crew time to become acquainted before we set sail."

"I suppose that is a good idea, we will be sharing close quarters for a long time after all," Synnove paused, "am I correct in guessing that this event is troubling you James?"

"It is not part of protocol which I am familiar with, however, it should not be a problem."

"I know I don't need to worry at all James."

"And why would that be Miss Synnove?"

"Because I have you to protect me of course, I know you will not let any harm befall me," Synnove's hands darted forward and clasped James' in her own. Her small pale hands holding on to his large tanned and calloused ones providing yet another contrast between the pair. James smiled at her gesture of faith and comfort.

"I am glad you have such trust in me Miss Synnove, I will not let you down.

"I know you will not James."

James cleared his throat after a moment of awkward silence, "I shall let you return to bed now Miss Synnove," on a impulse James raised her hands up to his face and placed a quick kiss upon her knuckles. "Goodnight and pleasant dreams Miss Synnove," he turned sharply and walked off down the hallway to rooms before her reply of "Goodnight," reached his ears.

That night before Synnove fell asleep she rubbed her knuckles back and forth over her lips, feeling the ghost of James' touch still upon them. She smiled and continued to do this until she fell into a dreamless sleep, where no nightmares of nets and drowning haunted her.

She was tempting, far too tempting for a man who was only supposed to be her protector. If only she weren't so utterly, so, well James could not quite place the right words to describe her, as eloquent as he was. She was certainly no temptress as he saw no hint of maliciousness within her eyes, but she was certainly hard to resist. He was sure the other men on the voyage would feel the same way once they saw her. If she met one of her own countrymen, then she would surely choose conversation with him in her own language over conversing with him. Regardless of this he would protect her from any advances until she was safely home. Tomorrow he would find a gunsmith and purchase their finest weapon, with extra ammunition to be safe. He was more than sufficient when it came to swordsmanship, but sometimes the need for a small and easily concealed pistol could not be ignored. It was a long journey and he would not risk anything. James harassed himself for his questionable actions with Miss Synnove, but had he seen the smile and the blush upon her face he would not have done berated himself so harshly. He would also have to deal with Benford before he left, the man had told the Captain about James' companion being a woman and that slip of information could not go unpunished. Regardless of the fact that nothing had come of it, Benford still had to be put back into his place, James just had to figure out how best to do that first. No matter what, his thoughts kept circling back to her, thoughts that one such as himself should not be thinking and certainly should not be thinking about her. He began making a mental list of things to pack in order to escape her invasion of his thoughts, but that only lasted for so long.

Before finally drifting off to sleep James could not help but think that even though her body was completely hidden when she donned his admiral's coat, he enjoyed seeing in on her nonetheless. He wondered if he should ask for her to return it, but immediately dismissed the idea, it would do her more good than it had ever done him. He could have tossed and turned for hours longer, but he managed to silence his thoughts for long enough to finally fall into the sleep he had been waiting all day long for.

* * *

Sorry this part is a little late, it has been one of those weeks where everything seems to go wrong and it was the end of trimester so I had assignments and an exam to sit so my attention was elsewhere. I still have a few more exams, but it should interrupt my updating (I hope).  
I so glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story so far :D Thank you for the reviews and for adding Serendipity to your alerts.  
Just out of curiosity – does anyone know any good Barbossa stories? I seemed to have developed a strange sort of crush on him after this newest movie …


	22. Thought You Were The King

Before James left that morning he informed Malvina that Synnove, Gillette, Groves and himself would not be present for dinner. He saw a brief flicker of sadness slip under the barrier that was Malvina's usual smile, but he let her keep her dignity and did not mention a thing. Just as she had the decency not to bring up his previous less than gentlemanly encounters with Miss Synnove. James was glad to her for that. Malvina told James that she would have Synnove ready by the time he would usually arrive home and then proceeded to lecture him about proper conduct with concern to accompanying Miss Synnove of course mentioning that she was have her son keep an eye on the pair. James had to fight back the rolling of his eyes, he had been to many of these sorts of functions before and he certainly knew how to act around female company. Because that is all that Miss Synnove was and all that she ever would be.

James still had some other business to attend to so he left the dock early, leaving Gillette and Groves behind to continue on. They too thought the banquet idea of their new Captain was a little strange, but the ultimately saw no harm in meeting the people they would be sailing with before they set sail. Groves was still a tad off colour and quieter than usual, but James hoped he would perk up before the journey began. It was still light out so he had plenty of time to visit the gunsmith and find a suitable, yet easy to conceal gun. He could not have his sword at his side at all times upon the ship, but he also could not stand to be defenceless in any way. The gun would ensure their safety, should anything go awry. He sincerely hoped that nothing would go wrong, but he did not believe in being unprepared in any sort of situation.

As he made his way, weaving through the masses of people, shouting and shoving their wares under near his face, he spotted the one man he had hoped he would run into.

"Benford!"

The marginally shorter dark brown haired man visibly flinched, before turning around to smile and wave at James. "Norrington, old friend, what a pleasure it is to see you again," Benford said, a smile present upon his face which looked more like he was gritting his teeth than experiencing the pleasure he had said that he was.

"We have a need to talk Benford."

"Well you see, I have to be off now, got a business to run after all," Benford said, looking around for an escape route.

"We both know you do not work Benford, so spare me your excuses."

"I may not work in the traditional sense Norrington, but I still work nonetheless," Benford protested.

"Managing ladies of the night is not working Benford, no matter how you try to justify it."

"Each to their own I suppose cousin."

"I suppose you could say that. Come with me, your business can wait for a while longer, our discussion cannot," James said before turning and continuing on to the gunsmith.

Benford jogged to catch up with James before asking, "so what exactly is it that we need to discuss?"

James kept silent until he made it to the alleyway where the gunsmith was located. He stopped outside the door and then turned to Benford, "you gave Captain Gibbons a piece of information which I would have preferred to keep to myself. I told you about Miss Synnove with the confidence that you would use that information to find me a suitable vessel."

"I did just that though, I do not see what your problem is," Benford shrugged, his indifference evident.

James rubbed his forehead and let out an anguished sigh before continuing, "I know you did and for that I am very grateful, however, you left me standing in front of the Captain with no way to hide Miss Synnove. You know as well as I that one does not divulge every fact unless it is completely necessary. You could have jeopardised her safety Benford, do you not see that?"

It was now Benford's turn to let out a sigh, "times are tough Norrington and Captain Gibbons pays for prior information about the people he will be carrying. When he waved those coins in front of my face it was all I could think about."

"Why would he want more information?" James wondered aloud.

"Beats me Norrington, but it seems to me he likes to know everything he can before he accepts certain passenger. What with you being a former naval officer it took a lot of convincing to get you a meeting with him."

"I see."

"Is that all then?" Benford asked, once again looking for an escape route.

"Not quite yet Benford, while I accept your reasoning, you still need to pay. Follow me," James said opening the door to the gunsmith and motioning for Benford to enter before him.

The shop was covered in dust and dirt, as if no one had ventured in for a very long time. The shopkeeper was a much older man, with long white hair and beard and he was sitting on a stool behind the counter, hunched over one of the many guns littered around before him. He did not look up to acknowledge the presence of Benford or Norrington, but simply continued to clean the gun closest to him.

Benford stood in the middle of the room, eyes following James around from shelf to shelf looking for the correct gun. Ideally he wanted one that was the same as the one he had when he fought against Captain Barbossa's damned crew, but the odds of finding such a gun in this place were slim to none. It seemed this particular gunsmith specialised in rifles rather than pistols and those would be useless for the purpose which James had in mind. Benford made his way to one of the counters nearest to the shopkeeper, who still had not looked up from his work. Benford drew patterns in the dust while he waited for Norrington to make a decision, he was getting anxious and wanted to leave before he found out what sort of punishment Norrington had up his sleeve.

James finally selected the gun he thought was the best and removed it from its place upon the shelf. It was slightly larger than the one he wanted, but it was the smallest and the cleanest he could find.

James placed the gun upon the counter in front of the shopkeeper who had just then noticed their presence in the room. His eyes slowly drifted from Norrington to Benford, one eye was a dark brown while the other had a light white film covering it, giving it a misty look.

"He will be paying," James said gesturing to Mark Benford who was standing behind him, absentmindedly tapping on the counter in a thoroughly annoying fashion. James could feel the beginnings of a headache settling in behind his eyes. Punishing this man was more trouble than it was worth a lot of the time, but that did not mean that James would go easy on him.

"What? I never agreed to that!" Benford said.

"Pay his protests no mind sir, it would seem he is reluctant to make good on his losses, but I assure you sir, he will be the one you will be collecting the money from," James said, giving Benford a look that told him he had better do as he said. He then spotted a small knife hanging on the wall behind the shopkeeper and pointed to it, "that as well please. But I will be paying for it."

James placed his coins upon the table before glaring at Benford as he reluctantly followed suit.

The shopkeeper gave the unusual pair an odd look before taking the knife from the wall and presenting it to James, "this one folds in or out, depending on the circumstances. Is this what you want?"

"Yes, I believe it should come to be useful. Thank you sir," James said before turning to Benford and ushering him from the building and back out onto the street with a stern glare and a motioning of his hand.

"Are we done yet James? I have business to get back to you know! What with all the money you just set me back I am –"he was silenced by another stern glare from James.  
"You have no right to protest Benford," James said with a sneer.

"I really do not see what your problem is James."

"You could have put Miss Synnove in danger. You gave me your word that you would not tell a soul about her and you broke your word. Do you not understand the severity of the situation?"

"You need to relax Norrington, nothing bad happened."

"But it could have!"

"Oi Norrington, come and give us a hand will you?" the voice of Malvina called from further on down the alleyway. She was carrying two large buckets of water at her side with Synnove following behind her, "the little one is not built for heavy lifting like I am," she said nodding her heading in Synnove's direction. She set her buckets down and motioned for Synnove to do the same, with any luck she could convince James to make two trips and carry all of the buckets back to the Inn for them.

James was relieved to see that Miss Synnove was still disguised as a boy, but was concerned that Malvina had allowed her to wander about Tortuga without any kind of protection. Malvina may be a tough woman on her own, but Miss Synnove was not built for defending herself against the wilds of Tortuga. As James and Benford came closer to Malvina and Synnove he saw the look upon Malvina's face darken, Synnove on the other hand was smiling at James.

"Hello James!" Synnove said.

Before James could reply he was interrupted by Malvina. "What do you think you are doing around a man such as him," Malvina nodded in Benford's direction, "you know what he does, right?"

"Yes unfortunately I do know the nature of his chosen profession," James scowled at Benford.

Synnove's eyes darted back and forth between James, Malvina and Benford, none of whom looked very pleased to be in the company of one another. She leaned closer to Malvina and asked, "what is it that Mr. Benford does exactly?"

Malvina opened her mouth the give Synnove the explanation she desired, but was cut off by Benford.

"I manage, let me see, how to put this nicely, "he said tapping on his chin as if seriously considering the matter.

"There is no way to put it nicely," James muttered darkly.

"I manage ladies of the night, or at least that is what some call them."

Synnove tilted her head as she usually did when she was confused.

"I am assuming you are the Miss Synnove whom my cousin Norrington here has mentioned on occasion?"

"Yes sir I am."

"Then I suppose I am also right in assuming you have no idea what I mean when I say I manage ladies of the night?"

"Yes sir, once again you would be correct," she said with a nod.

"Prostitutes love, I provide them with protection from undesirables and in return they give me a portion of their profits. I daresay you could fetch a high price if you were to dress as a female and sell your wares. Bit on the short side, but you have the young face some men particularly enjoy, in fact, many only want those with young faces and flat chests."

Benford was cut off before he could continue on by the connection of James' fist with the side of his face. James was positively livid that Benford, his own flesh and blood would say such despicable things. The pair has been similar in age and had grown up in close proximity to one another, James had felt that they were brothers more than cousins, but now Benford has fallen so far from grace that James was disgusted to be related to such a man.

Benford recovered from the fist's impact and quickly righted himself, throwing a punch of his own at James. James easily brushed Benford's fist aside and punched his opponent square in the jaw once again. Benford spat blood out of his mouth and the look in his eyes changed to that of determination. He swung his fists wildly at James, with few of the blows actually making a connection. Benford and Norrington continued to throw one another around, neither able to land a decisive blow while Malvina and Synnove watched on.

Malvina has seen plenty of bar fights in before she came to Tortuga, so she was unperturbed by James' actions. If she were honest with herself, she was actually proud of him for defending Synnove's honour, although technically it was not his to defend. Synnove on the other hand was terrified and made her feelings quite obvious with the way she was clinging on to Malvina's arm.

"Do not worry child, Norrington is a naval officer, Benford does not stand a chance."

At that moment, in direct contrast with Malvina's words Benford's fist connected with James' jaw sending a sickening crunch through the alleyway.

Synnove let out a whimper of fear and she made a move towards James, but Malvina held her back.

"I know you are worried child, but stay behind me. It would do you no good to get involved in a man's business."

The two brawling men continued on, oblivious to what was going on around them. They were focused solely on winning and causing as much harm to their opponent as possible. It was clear that James, being the bigger of the two was also the stronger and was landing more punches on Benford. That did not mean however, that Benford was not doing any damage of his own.

The clicking of a gun stopped them both in their track. Benford was pinned up against the wall with James' arm pushing against his throat causing a gurgling noise to be emitted from his opened mouth.

"You two boys better stop that now you hear me?" the gunsmith said, stepping out of his shop and pointing his gun at James' back.

James backed away from Benford, holding his hands in the air to show that he was no threat to anyone expect for Benford. He was out of breath and as Synnove watched blood trickled down the side of his face from a gash on the side of his forehead.

"Always the upstanding member of society weren't you cousin? Always doing whatever was required of you and following the rules," Benford sneered at James.

"I found it to be better than the alternative," James replied.

"You always were the high and mighty type Norrington and yet here we both are. We are both living in the squalor of Tortuga. The only difference between us is that I am willing to accept my lot in life, whilst you are still prancing about pretending that you are still the same man, pretending that you are still an Admiral, pretending that anyone still has a shred of respect left for you!"

"That is enough young man, I think it would be best if you left now," the gunsmith said.

With another spitting of blood onto the ground, Benford turned on his heel and swiftly exited the alleyway, turning to give James one last glare filled with hatred. The gunsmith abruptly turned and shot James one last warning glance before returning to his shop without another word.

As soon as he was gone James hung his head. The headache he felt was settling in earlier was now here to stay and worst of all the words Benford had spoken had struck a tender spot within James. He kept his back to Malvina and Miss Synnove, out of shame.

Synnove pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dipped it into the bucket of water at her side. She slowly made her way towards James and placed her empty hand on his shoulder.

"James, are you alright? You are bleeding again," Synnove said. He seemed to get injured a lot during his stay in Tortuga and this time it had partially been her fault.

"I am fine Miss Synnove," he said turning to face her. He knew Miss Synnove well enough now to know that the look in her eyes was one of concern and not pity, but it still did not make him feel any better. His yes drifted behind Miss Synnove to see that Malvina had casually turned around to face in the opposite direction, pretending to pick at her fingernails.

"You most certainly are not fine James! Now either bend over, or sit upon that barrel and let me clean you up," Synnove ordered.

James raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood, but did not question her. He made his way over the barrel she had pointed to and slowly lowered himself onto it.

Synnove stepped forward and placed one hand on James' shoulder and the other on his cheek. With him sitting on the barrel they were now at the same height making it a lot easier for her to clean the wound on his head. It also made it easier for her to see that on the same side of his face his lip was split. Synnove was standing between James' legs and he could feel her breath brush against his skin. He closed his eyes and took peace in the quiet moments while Synnove once again tended to his wounds. James knew that later on, when Miss Synnove was not present, Malvina would chew him out over his actions and there would be nothing he could do to stop her onslaught. As Miss Synnove inched closer to James, his hands itched to make their way to her waist, to pull her closer to him, but he fought the thoughts off and forced his eyes open. They immediately met with her innocent blue ones and he instantly felt ashamed for his thoughts about her. Did he need to remind himself daily that he was her protector and nothing more?

"That man was really your cousin James?"

"Unfortunately, yes Miss Synnove."

"Thank you for defending my honour James," she said, gently wiping the blood from the side of his mouth, "but is my honour really worth falling out with your only family on this island?"

"It was my pleasure Miss Synnove, you should know I think you are more than worth it. Benford may be my flesh and blood, but he is no longer family. He lost the right to call himself that the minute he betrayed my trust," James replied.

"I am sorry James."

""You did nothing wrong Miss Synnove. Let us pretend that this unpleasantness ever occurred and return to the Inn," James said standing up and gathering two of the buckets of water that were closest. As they made their way closer to Malvina he said, "I am sorry that I cannot carry all of the buckets, but at least I will be able to lighten your load."

"It is fine Norrington. Here Synnove, you take one and I will take the other. If I had known that you were so close by I would have sent you to get the water instead of us delicate ladies," Malvina said.

James snorted at Malvina calling herself delicate when that had clearly never been the case. Synnove heard his snort and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course Malvina, lead the way."

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**Once again thank you all for the reviews and adding this to your alerts!**


	23. Who Calls Out My Name?

"I have just the dress for this special occasion, guaranteed to turn a few heads at this banquet your off to. Follow me quickly now little one, we have much to do to make you presentable and we do not have all night!" Malvina said as she pushed Synnove upstairs none to gently. "Do not just stand there Norrington, we are going to need you to carry these buckets upstairs for us and leave them outside my bedroom door. We cannot be expected to carry them all the way up there by ourselves now can we?"

James merely grunted in response.

"But Malvina, James is injured! I do not mind carrying the buckets, I was doing fine before, honestly," Synnove said from the top floor.

"The worst injury was done to Norrington's pride my dear. He can carry buckets perfectly fine."

James unleashed a glare on Malvina that would have sent chills through any other person, but for Malvina it just added fuel to her fire. "Come on now Norrington, none of us are getting any younger, especially not you."

Silently James made his way up the stairs, not allowing Malvina the satisfaction of seeing or hearing the difficulty he was having. Nor did he want to alarm Miss Synnove any further. Malvina was correct though, he was not getting any younger and his back had been giving him trouble since the incident with the foreign ship and its less than friendly crew. Every time he stretched he could hear the bones in his back and shoulders cracking and he rued the day when he would be hunched over with a constantly aching back like his father. Age did some terrible things to people and James was not looking forward to any of it. He dropped the buckets outside where he was told and made his way to his room, to wait until it was his turn to use the bathtub.

While Malvina waited for the buckets to warm the water on the stove she hunted through one of her wardrobes, looking for the dress she had mentioned earlier. It, like the others stored in this particular wardrobe had once belonged to her daughter. When Malvina had first moved to Tortuga with her husband immediately after Bec's death, she could not stand to be parted with anything that had once been hers and so all of her clothing stayed in the wardrobe, waiting. She had hoped to one day give the dresses to her sons wife, but the likelihood of that day coming to pass was getting smaller by the day. So instead she decided that she would give them all to Synnove for her voyage. Of course Malvina had not told her that yet, she wanted it to be a surprise for when they left. She continued to dig around in the wardrobe while Synnove removed the buckets from her stove and filled the tub in the bathroom full with the warm water.

Synnove stripped from her disguise and lowered herself into the tub letting out a hiss as she sank into the heated water. The marks on her wrists and legs were still present, but they were fading against her pale skin. Every time she saw the marks it sent a chill up her spine and she was overcome with a sense of immense fear. But the moment she looked away everything was right once again. The nightmares had backed off in their intensity since the night that James had spent at her side, something she was truly grateful for. There lessening of the violence in her nightmares set her more at ease, but instead a voice had taken to calling to her. It was most certainly a female voice, with soothing tones and the owner of the voice knew her name. At times the voice even sounded sad to be parted from her and it left Synnove with her own feelings of longing to cheer the owner of the voice up. At times she even woke up to find herself standing at the window of her bedroom, looking out over the sea, having no clue how she had come to be there. No matter how hard she thought about the situation she could come to no conclusion as to what was happening. She had never crossed anyone before, so she could not think of anyone who had a grudge against her. She had been imprisoned in the locker by the wrath of Calypso, but she guessed that if Calypso was aware of her current freedom, then she would have done something to rectify that by now. From what she knew of the Goddess, she was more than powerful enough to return one mere mortal to the locker without the need for these vague nightmares. Synnove came to the conclusion then that it must be someone else who was after her, or perhaps just out to scare her. This conclusion just lead back to the same knowledge she had that no one held a grudge against her. All of this time spent thinking over the situation left her no better off than she was before. She let out a dramatic sign and sunk under the water for a good five minutes more before she stepped out of the now cold water and began to dry herself off. She threw on a clean white slip and wrapped her hair in her towel before joining Malvina in her bedroom once again.

Much pulling and prodding later Synnove stood in front of the mirror admiring the dress that Malvina had selected for tonight's festivities. It was a rich red wine colour with a deep v-shaped collar that showed a lot of skin in the chest area. The corset underneath the dress was pulled tightly giving Synnove a more emphasised hourglass figure, but it was not pulled too tightly to restrict her ability to breathe.

Malvina let out a low whistle from behind Synnove, "You will certainly be turning some heads tonight little one, or not so little one if that chest of yours is anything to go by."

Synnove's face went bright red with embarrassment, "Malvina!" she cried as she tried to cover the area in question, "The only head I wish to turn is James'."

"I know that dear," Malvina said pushing Synnove's arms away from guarding her ample chest, "you really should not try to hide yourself like that little one. You have grown into a fine woman in the short time that I have known you and I suspect you will continue on along that road for a long time." Malvina shock her head to wipe a few unseemly tears away, but Synnove had noticed regardless.

"Malvina, please do not be sad."

"Oh never you mind me little one, I am just a sentimental old woman."

"I have been meaning to ask you something for a while now, but I am not sure how to go about it," Synnove said.

"And what would that be dear? You know you can ask me anything."

"I was wondering, perhaps, that maybe I could call you Ma? You have been so wonderfully kind to James and I since we arrived. You taught me so many things that my own Mother never got the opportunity to do. I know it could be considered inappropriate, but to me it feels right."

Malvina clutched her hands to her chest and looked at Synnove straight in the eye before answering with a simple, "Yes," and with that she threw her arms around Synnove and gave her a hug. Malvina no longer fought back her tears, but this time her tears were of happiness. She may have lost her own daughter, but she had gained another, one she was proud to call her own. Of course this meant that she could never allow her son to marry Synnove, but she never saw that in the cards from the beginning. She withdrew from embracing Synnove said, "We best get started on the rest of you now. Men like Norrington do not like to be kept waiting."

Several hours later James stood at the bottom of the stairs dressed in black trousers accompanied by tall recently polished black boots. His coat was also black a similar in style to the one he had worn in his days as a lieutenant, the ribbon that held his hair back in place was also black and his shirt and cravat were clean white colour. Malvina had made a joke that he looked as if he was ready for a funeral, not a banquet and of course Gillette had found his Mother's joke to be hilarious, but he certainly had not. She had returned later with a wine red coloured waistcoat and demanded that he have it on before she came back. Gillette was dressed in a dark blue version of what James was wearing and when Groves finally made his way down the stairs he was dressed in dark grey clothing. Malvina had let them all dig through her husband's clothing as well as the bin of spare clothing from patrons who left some items behind. Some of the clothing in the bin would have been better of being used as rags, but beggars could not be choosers and they all had managed to find something that wasn't full of holes or decorated with some sort of exotic stain.

Synnove descended the stairs silently coming to stand behind James without anyone else noticing. She slowly reached out and placed her hand upon his shoulder, "I am not late am I?" she asked.

Her sudden appearance cause James to jump a little and for his hand to move reflexively to the sword that was placed at his side. However, once he noticed it was Synnove he instantly calmed down. Synnove let out a laugh when she saw the startled look on his face glad that she was able to get some sort of revenge for all of the times that he had snuck up on her.

"You nearly gave Norrington a heart attack there Miss Synnove," Groves said, joining in on the infectious laughter coming from the small young woman.

"I am sorry James, I thought you would have heard me coming."

"Apparently not," Gillette said with a snicker.

Synnove placed a hand over her mouth to hold back more laughter when she saw the thoroughly unimpressed look on James' face, "oh look James, we match!" Synnove said pointing to his waistcoat.

It was at that moment that James finally turned around to face Synnove properly. Being the hot-blooded man that he was his eyes were immediately drawn to her breasts. He found himself once again trapped in inappropriate thoughts about Miss Synnove. James honestly did try to look away for the sake of propriety, but he found the view from his advanced height to be far too enticing to do so. His gaze slowly roamed from her chest up to her face to find that she had her head tilted in her usual confused manner, with a light blush covering her cheeks.

"Are you just going to stand there and gawk at Synnove and be late, or are you going to take her arm and get going?" Malvina shouted from the top of the stairs.

James' face took on a light red tint of embarrassment, "yes, well, I was getting to that thank you very much," he said and cleared his throat. James extended his arm to Synnove and said, "May I be your escort for the night Miss Synnove?"

Synnove smiled and threaded her arm through his, "of course James," she said before turning back to Malvina and saying goodbye.

"Make sure you stay close to me at all times Miss Synnove, Tortuga only gets more dangerous as the sun goes down."

"Alright," she agreed, moving a little closer to James' body. She could feel the tight grip he had on her harm and saw the way his free hand lingered close to his sword at all times. His eyes constantly scanned the crowd around them watching for even the remotest signs of danger. Gillette was walking in front of the pair with Groves bringing up the rear, effectively forming a barrier between Synnove and the rest of Tortuga. Normally Synnove would have protested at such extreme treatment, but when she heard the screams and gunshots of the surrounding neighbourhood she cuddled in closer to James in wide-eyed fright. James noticed her reaction and moved his hand so that their fingers were linked. Synnove's partially bitten fingernails dug jaggedly into his flesh, but he did not mind at all.

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**Sorry this part is a tad late – but better late than never I suppose!**  
**Thank you to everyone who left a review for the last part, its much appreciated!**  
**Norrieo: I couldn't help but make Benford into an ass, I never did like him in FlashForward. I have heard about that series, but I can't find them anywhere, curses on the useless bookstores! The title of the last chapter comes from a song by Atreyu called "you were the king, now you're unconscious" which I felt suited the chapter best.**


	24. Death Wont Hold You As Tight As She Will

Gillette led them on through the city and to the docks, keeping a quick pace and an ever vigilant gaze upon their surroundings. The route they took was slightly longer than normal route they took on their way to work, but it was a much safer route. The streets and alleyways they wound through were largely deserted apart from the odd passed out drunk surrounded by his palace of bottles. One such man lying upon the street suddenly jumped awake and made a swipe at Synnove, meaning to do her harm, until he was met with James' sword pointing at his throat and the twin clicks of both Gillette and Groves' pistols. Synnove had muttered a terrified word of thanks before they continued on, this time her grip on James' hand was even tighter. James explained to Synnove that they had taken this particular route because it was far less dangerous than travelling through the main square and though she initially did not believe that this could be the case, once they made it to the docks she could see James' point clearly. From on the docks she could see the city in its entirety. Fires burned out of control with drunken men and women dancing around the flames before throwing their partially empty bottles into the flames to encourage them on. The ladies of the night attached themselves to any men who appeared to have enough gold spare for the night and she swore she saw Gillette making eyes at one of the ladies as they made their way past. Some of the ladies had called out to her companions with their shrill voices and licking their lips, but once they realised they would not be getting anywhere for the night, or perhaps for the time being in the case of Gillette, they had swiftly changed their tunes. One of them had started shouting obscenities at Synnove for allegedly taking away her business and called her none to friendly names with a sprinkling of obscenities that would put even the surliest sailor to shame. Synnove had turned swiftly around to share a few of the words she secretly had learnt from the one who had taught her English, but James silenced her with a simple finger placed upon her lips.

"They are not worth your time Miss Synnove," James said.

"I suppose you are right James, if only for the second time," she replied.

James laughed at her comment and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, allowing his fingers to slowly trail down the side of her face along her jaw, "And I suppose I should not get used to that feeling?"

"Precisely," she said gently moving her face against James' rough fingers with the smile on her face growing larger.

Behind the pair Groves let out a subtle cough and they broke apart, resuming their previous distance from one another. James scolded himself mentally for his actions, but he could not stay mad at himself for long as his fingers recalled the feeling of her skin beneath him.

They continued on along the docks and Synnove began wishing that she was wearing shoes without a heel. Ma had insisted that these particular shoes went with this dress and no amount of arguing could have told her otherwise. They were beautiful red shoes the same colour as her dress and they added a good inch to her height, or lack thereof. Despite the pain she would not succumb to the typical female response of lamenting out loud the fate of her poor feet every minute as they continued walking. When she was younger she had found women who constantly complained to their husbands about their shoes to be infuriating and she certainly did not want to resort to the same behaviour, for surely it could not be much longer before they made it to the ship.

As they turned the next corner the _Engel Lied_ came into view, towering over the surrounding ships and with a few more turns they were walking up the gangplank. All along the ledge of the ship was covered in long white candles whose glow creating a serene ring of light around the imposingly large ship. There were no members of the crew on the deck of the ship and all around nothing could be heard apart from the gently lapping of water against the side of the ship. It would have been a romantic scene, if not for the sudden slamming of doors open and two men emerging apparently have an argument in their native language. The arguing pair stopped when they saw that they had guests and James immediately recognised the taller of the two as being Stefan, Captain Gibbon's right hand man. Stefan nodded to James before shoving the smaller man in front of him and motioning him to go on without him for now. Stefan's eyes roamed over James and his company before landing upon Synnove. A sly smile spread across his face and he moved toward her, extending his hand to her. She placed her free hand in his own, thinking that he would only shake it out of courtesy and then be off. Stefan however had other plans, he bowed to Synnove before raising her pale hand to his lips and planting and kiss upon her knuckles. He then stood and placed his hand over his heart and said, "Stefan," introducing himself before gesturing to her to do the same.

"Synnove Nordenburg," she replied.

A flicker of an unknown emotion went through Stefan's eyes that did not go unnoticed by James and Groves.

Stefan turned to Synnove's companions and said "through there," in broken English while pointing to the doors that he and his fellow crewmate had burst through earlier.

James merely nodded in response and reflexively squeezed Synnove's fingers. He was momentarily startled when she squeezed back in response and was instantly calmed from the burning anger he felt towards Stefan for daring to touch any part of Miss Synnove's body with his filthy most likely pirate-born lips.

Without another word or even a nod of acknowledgement Stefan walked away in the direction he had sent the other man.

They made their way over to the tall double doors which Stefan had pointed them towards, Gillette still leading the way. Out of the shadows stepped a scruffy looking older man who was using his knife to flick dirt out from under his fingernails. Gillette pulled a face of unmasked disgust at the manners of the man before them while James and Groves held the same impartial look they had worn earlier.

Behind the scruffy looking man, in what would have been the Captain's quarters on the _Dauntless_, was a large elegantly decorated dining area. There were at least forty medium sized round tables scattered about the room. Each table had the same cream coloured table cloth and yet more candles were placed in the centre of each table, casting a bright light around the room. At the port side of the ship stood a large rectangular shaped table with ten place settings, all of which were empty at the moment.

"Just look for the table with your name card in the middle of it," the scruffy looking man said before waving them dismissively on inside to the dining room.

Gillette's face contorted into a disgusted snarl, "such a charming crew this ship has," he said as they made their way slowly around the room looking for their table.

"Do you really think so Mr. Gillette?" Synnove asked.

"No Miss Synnove, Gillette was being sarcastic," James replied, looking down at her with a smile.

"Oh how silly of me not to recognise that," she said blushing slightly at her embarrassment, "I should have realised that."

Before James could reassure her that she needn't be embarrassed about such a thing he was cut off by Groves.

"There is our table," Groves said from behind Synnove, pointing to a small round table near the back window of the ship. Sitting upon the table were three name cards written in an elegant script which Groves was the first to identify as holding their names.

"Why are there only three name cards if there are four of us?" Synnove asked as they made their way through small groups of people looking for their own places.

There were few people present at the moment as the banquet was not due to start for at least ten minutes, but they had arrived early as James insisted. There were several older couples with greying hair wandering around as well as a few families with older children. There did not appear to be any young children present, but perhaps they would come along later.

"I believe that is because Norrington's name card has 'plus guest' written on it," Gillette said nudging James' arm, "I don't suppose you gave them Miss Synnove's name then?"

"I did not see the point in giving the Captain more information than was strictly necessary."

"So the Captain thinks I am some anonymous woman travelling with three male escorts?" Synnove asked.

"With all of the other guests I doubt the Captain will care much for his passenger's circumstances as long as he hears the jingle of their gold coins Miss Synnove, or at least that is the impression I got when Gillette and I met with him," Groves said.

"I would have to second that opinion," James added, "now shall we investigate that board over there with all of the names, or should we make ourselves comfortable and take a look at the board later?"

"What board?" Synnove asked.

"I see, it is the one in the corner over there," Groves said pointing to a board placed near the head table, "from what I can make out, it appears to be more names."

They made their way through the small group of people meandering around the dining room and James had still not let go of his grip on Synnove.

She looked around the empty spaces which had been left, obviously for dancing as she saw a small band set up to the other side of the head table and she wondered how she could subtly hint to James that she would like to dance with him later. Formerly being such a high ranking naval officer would mean that he would have attended numerous balls and banquets, so Synnove concluded that he must know how to dance and she herself had been forced to take lessons, though her skills were rather rusty she did have to admit. She never had been too popular during balls and she knew it was more to do with the fact that her older brother was always hovering around, giving potential suitors threatening glares, than it had to do with her less than perfect dancing skills. She was so caught up in her daydreaming about dancing with James that she did not realise that James had stopped walking.

"More names?" she questioned while reading from the board.

"Actually I think it is a room assignment plan, see there," Gillette said pointing to his own name," my name is grouped with Groves and Norrington in a square with the same number written next to it."

"Then we are all in room twenty-three, though I do not see a ship map to figure out where the room is exactly," Groves commented.

"Perhaps the Captain plans to give us all a tour later?" Synnove suggested, "Have any of you found my name yet?"

James stretched up far above Synnove's head and pointed to where he found her name in a square next to the names of two other women. The other two women were Antanasia and Yulia Osmosechu and they would all be sharing room two-hundred and thirty.

"Room two-hundred and thirty, that is an awfully long way away from where we are staying. I shall have a word with the Captain and see if you can be moved closer," James said to Synnove, not at all impressed that she would be such a great distance away from him for the duration of the voyage. How could he protect her if she was staying so far away?

A small female voice with a peculiar accent spoke up from behind the group, "that is not how it works; the Cook explained it to us earlier. Anything with a number two in front means that you will be staying on the second floor, so you," she said pointing at Synnove, "will be on the second floor in room thirty and they will be on the same floor in room three. Effectively you will be on the same floor, but at opposite ends of the ship. The Cook said he knew the way this was laid out would confuse people but that the Stefan could deal with all the problems himself because he was the one who made the mess." The young girl who had spoken was small and could not have been any older than fourteen. She had long white blonde hair and green eyes with a friendly innocent smile adorning her face.

"Thank you Miss?"

"Antanasia Osmosechu, we will be sharing a room together with my older sister Yulia. Yulia is awfully quiet mother says, but she is closer to your age so you may find her more entertaining than me."

"I think you will prove to be perfectly interesting on your own Miss Antanasia, please forgive me, I haven't introduced myself or my companions yet!" Synnove said, disappointed in her own lack of manners.

"You are forgiven," Antanasia said, in what might possibly have been the shortest sentence of her young life.

"I am Synnove Nordenburg, this is James Norrington, Theodore Groves and Philip Gillette," she said gesturing to each man in turn.

Antanasia curtsied to them politely, "it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I shall look forward to sharing a room with you. If you do not mind me saying so Miss Synnove, you have a strange accent."

Synnove blinked at the young girl before her, "I suppose I do Miss Antanasia. But might I say you too have a strange accent."

"I know, but yours is far more interesting Miss Synnove. Where are you from?" Antanasia asked.

"Antanasia! You do not ask complete strangers such impolite questions!" an older woman shouted at her daughter, striding across the room being trailed by another daughter who Synnove guessed must be Yulia. They all had the same white blonde hair and the same shade of dark green eyes, but neither of them wore the same smile as young Antanasia. Their Mother was a plump short woman who was slightly hunched over in her older age. The look of immense anger and frustration clouded her face and made her frown lines more pronounced. Synnove got the impression that this woman spent more time yelling and frowning at her children then she did laughing and enjoying her time with them. Yulia in stark contrast to her Mother, she was taller than Synnove by a good deal and was only slightly shorter than Groves making her much taller than the average woman. Also in contrast to her Mother, Yulia was extraordinarily beautiful with her features all in perfect balance in Synnove's opinion. Unfortunately for Yulia, she did not seem to know just how enchanting she appeared to be. She never looked up, but kept her eyes focused on the wooden floor, seemingly fascinated by the patterns the wood contained.

"I really do not mind her curiosity, it was an innocent question," Synnove said.

"Yes well, that does not change the fact that I specifically told her not to make a nuisance of herself and yet she goes against my wishes once again. We shall take our leave now, goodnight," the Mother said before dragging Antanasia off with a firm grip on the small girl's upper arm. Yulia trailed silently behind, but not before giving Synnove a small, almost unnoticeable smile.

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If anyone is interested they should read "Where your heart truly lies" by RWolfe94, I thought it was a brilliant story and didn't get the recognition that it deserved, so if you are interested please check it out!


	25. Watched The Night Reign

A few hours later the banquet was in full swing, with all of the tables occupied and the band playing subdued tones next to the head table. Gillette and Groves had tried to count how many people they would be sharing the journey with, but no one would sit still long enough for them to finish their self imposed task. Gillette had assigned himself the task of counting the young women and he graciously allowed Groves to count older women. James had rolled his eyes many times at Gillette's antics and no amount of prodding from the man could make him participate. Synnove found the game to be entertaining though, saying random numbers to throw Gillette off his count and receiving mock glares in response. James could not put into words how pleased he was that his two closest friends got along so well with Miss Synnove. Once she let her guard down they were able to see the same charming young lady he had seen when she first appeared next to him in the Locker.

Rounds and rounds of different food courses had gone by, each more extravagant than the one before. Accompanying the food was a rich red wine which after her third glass Synnove was beginning to regret drinking. The room appeared to be a moving on its own accord, though she knew this could not be the case, she knew it was all the wine's fault. Couples were now dancing around in the open space designated for them. Old women danced with their equally old husbands at the same time as young couples danced together, sharing in the elegant setting the crew had organised. Synnove noticed Stefan making his way around each of the single women he found and she found herself wishing that James would ask her soon.

James excused himself under the guise that he needed to use the bathroom and left the table, leaving Synnove under the care of Groves and Gillette. He did need to use the bathroom, but that was not the only matter he needed to attend to. James had been watching Synnove discreetly out of the corner of his eye trying to figure out a seemingly casual way to ask her to dance. He had seen the forlorn look in her eyes as they roamed over the smiling dancing couples. He desperately did want to take her into his arms and sweep her elegantly across the dining room floor, he wanted to feel her body pressed hard against his own, but he did not think he could trust his body not to react inappropriately. Many times during diner he had found his mind, along with his eyes, trailing down her neck to her breasts and if he closed his eyes right now he could still see her body in his mind's eye. He had not been raised to look upon women in such a deplorable manner, his poor old Mother would be rolling in her grave if she could see the way his eyes followed Synnove's every move. He briefly wondered if she would have approved of Synnove, but could not come to an answer that would fit the frail woman he remembered. He splashed water from a nearby basin onto his face trying to clear his mind and cool his body down. James had made up his mind that he would ask her to dance the minute he returned and hopefully she would not notice if his body reacted to hers, or if she did notice she would not fully understand what was happening. James thought that perhaps they could share a dance that required minimum contact, but dismissed the idea immediately out of his own selfish wants. He wanted her close to him; in fact he wanted it so much that he had lost count of the amount of times he had to restrain himself and his itching hands. James took one last look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom and making his way back to the table.

When James re-entered the dining area he was confused to see that their table was empty. There was no sign whatsoever of Synnove, Gillette or Groves and instantly James began to panic. His mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusions before rational thought had any chance to surface, he had in fact worried for countless hours that Captain Gibbons had ill intentions for this banquet and his mind was now producing images of the worst kind. He whirled around looking at the couples on the dance floor. As James looked around the dance floor he noticed no signs of struggle, or any signs that anything had gone awry. The look upon his face must have shown his concern because he felt a gentle tug at his sleeve moments later. He looked down and was met with the younger Miss Osmosechu from before.

"While you were gone the Captain came and asked Miss Synnove for a dance and he had a look in his eye that suggested he would not take no for an answer. He said something about the waltz being created in his country and so he would teach her how to waltz properly. She did not look too happy I must admit," Antanasia said.

"Thank you young Miss Osmosechu. Do you know where Groves and Gillette wandered off to?"

"You are welcome Mr. Norrington. I convinced Mr. Groves to rescue my older sister from her dance partner. She is terribly shy, but Mother forced her to dance with one of the other passengers regardless. Yulia appeared to be having an even worse time than Miss Synnove so Mr. Groves acquiesced to my request of help. Can you see them both over there dancing?" Antanasia said pointing to where Yulia and Groves could be seen dancing stiffly with one another. Their actions were mechanical and altogether rather awkward looking.

"Ah yes I do see them. Do not worry Miss Osmosechu; Groves will make sure that your sister is unharmed. What about Gillette?"

"He is over in that corner, talking with some of the older men on board. He at least appears to be enjoying himself," Antanasia said with a smile that might possibly rival Synnove, "oh look Mr. Norrington! There is your Miss Synnove; her beautiful red dress is very hard to miss."

Synnove was pressed hard against the Captain, seemingly trapped within his arms with a blank look upon her face. She had been dragged across the dance floor from one side to the other and she was beginning to feel rather dizzy. When she caught sight of James her face lit up and she waved her fingers at him. James nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to Antanasia.

"Thank you for your assistance Miss Osmosechu."

"It was my pleasure; you looked very upset when you could not find Miss Synnove. Now I had best get back to my Mother before she scolds me again for annoying strangers. Farewell!" Antanasia said and skipped away back to the opposite end of the dining hall where her Mother was.

James had to make a move before the Captain managed to sweep Miss Synnove away from him again so he weaved his way through some of the other guests and stepped up to her side. Luckily for him, the song was coming to an end, affording him the perfect opportunity to cut in without appearing to rude.

"Would you mind if I borrowed Miss Synnove for the next dance Captain Gibbons?" he said, addressing the man who would soon be his superior.

"Of course not Herr Norrington, this fine young woman is your companion after all," the Captain said and let his arm drop from around Miss Synnove's waist; he took her other hand to his lips and planted a kiss upon her knuckles, much like Stefan had earlier that same night. James felt his blood boil at the Captain's actions but he did not dare say anything against the man. As long as the Captain behaved within the boundaries of propriety James would have to control his emotions, something he seemed to be having more difficulty with the longer he spent in the company of Miss Synnove.

"It was such a pleasure to share the company of a fine young woman, if only for a short while. The next time we hold a dance on board you must save me another Miss Synnove."

Synnove curtsied to Captain Gibbons and gave him a smile that did not seem to reach her eyes before saying, "of course Captain."

Without further words Captain Gibbons departed leaving Synnove and James standing awkwardly facing one another for a few moments before James finally spoke up.

"May I have the pleasure of sharing this dance with you Miss Synnove?" he asked extending his arm to her.

"Yes," she replied simply with a genuine smile on her face. The fingers of her right hand laced with his which he held in the air. She slipped closer into his arms and rested her free hand on his shoulder. James placed his hand in a respectable position at the small of her back. He had never wished harder than he was now that he was forward enough to pull her closer, however he needn't worry about her proximity for very long as he felt her body lean into his own.

"Are you alright Miss Synnove?"

"I am just a little dizzy, that's all. I fear I had a little too much to drink and all that spinning the Captain insisted on doing did not help very much," she said, closing her eyes in an attempt to force the room to stop spinning.

"Would you rather sit this one out then?"

"No!" Synnove exclaimed, her eyes darting wide open to stare up at James," I have been waiting all night to share a dance with you!" Synnove's hand flew to cover her traitorous mouth, "I am sorry James, I did not mean to be so forward."

James was taken aback by her eager statement but he was glad she had been the one to admit it rather than him, "Well then, I shall not disappoint. Close your eyes again and hold on tightly, if you still feel dizzy we will go out on deck and get you some fresh air."

"Alright," Synnove said quietly resting her head against his chest.

They shared many dances together that night, all of which Synnove had spent silently clinging close to James' body with her eyes closed in apparent bliss. It had been a long time since she had last been on the dance floor with a gentleman, but she had never been in the arms of one she could trust so completely as James. Not one of his steps was wrong or out of time and he held her so close that she knew nothing could harm her. It was a strange feeling of being completely safe that Synnove revelled in whenever she was near James and with his arms encircling her, the feeling was magnified. With each passing song she leant further into James and relaxed even more, his head was now resting gently on top of hers and his eyes were darting around the room, watching everything going on around him.

Gillette was now dancing rather closely with a young lady with short curly brown hair, but that did not last for long as he swapped from partner to partner with each change of song. Groves on the other hand had alternated between dancing with the older and the younger Miss Osmosechu sisters. He had to bend to dance with Antanasia and found himself getting his ear almost talked off by the young lady. She certainly knew how to keep a conversation going beyond the measures of normal people, but he welcomed her chatter more than he enjoyed the silence of Yulia. Yulia had spoken about five sentences to him during their dances, and most of her words had come out in a weak mumble rather than fully audible words. Antanasia had been correct when she told Groves that Yulia was terribly shy, but he had still held the hope that she would have relaxed slightly after so many dances with him. This however had been the opposite as the longer the pair danced the more terrified Yulia appeared to be.

James swept Synnove around in another elegant turn and ended up next to Groves and Miss Antanasia Osmosechu.

"Hello again Mr. Norrington, I see you made your way to Miss Synnove alright," Antanasia said causing Synnove to open her eyes in alarm.

Synnove had not realised she had let her guard down so much that she took no notice of her surroundings, if she was completely honest it had more to do with the fact that she was tired, but she did not want to tell James that because then he would make them leave and return to the Inn.

"Yes Miss Osmosechu, thanks to you of course," James said.

"You know Miss Synnove, Mr. Norrington looked awfully upset when he could not find you."

"Oh I am sure he was not too worried," Synnove said whilst attempting to stifle a yawn.

"I am afraid I must beg to differ," Antanasia said, about to elaborate further when a stern look from James silenced her. "Where will you be going to once the ship reaches Denmark?"

"We are off to Sweden, my homeland," Synnove answered, "what about you and your family?"

"Your journey home will be much quicker than ours. You see we are going all the way home to Romania."

"My, that is a long way from where the ship will be landing! Do you have everything all planned already?" Synnove asked.

"I do not know the specifics, but surely Mother knows how we are getting there. Miss Synnove you look rather tired," Antanasia said, changing the subject in a subtle manner.

"It would appear you are correct young Miss Osmosechu; perhaps it is time we made our way home?" James suggested as he looked down at Synnove and saw that she was indeed struggling to keep her eyes open and trying to hold back another yawn.

"I do not want us all to leave on my account!" Synnove exclaimed.

"We do have a big day ahead of us tomorrow Miss Synnove, so perhaps leaving now would indeed be best," Groves said, "unless it would offend you if we were to leave now Miss Osmosechu?"

"I would not mind Mr. Groves, in fact I can see my Mother over there looking as if she wants to leave as well."

Antanasia dropped her arms from around Groves and curtsied to him before dashing off to be with her Mother and sister. James still kept Synnove in his tight grip, swaying her gently from side to side in time with the music, which was not helping her stay awake at all.

"I will go and get Gillette and bid farewell to the Captain, you two should go now and we will catch up," Groves said leaving the pair to make the next move.

Out in the cold night air of Tortuga, James and Synnove slowly made their way through the outskirts of the main town and back to the Inn. It was an even longer walk this time as Synnove kept stumbling over her heavy feet every so often and James would have to catch her before she caused herself a major injury. Normally she would have been embarrassed by her lack of coordination, but after all that dancing with James, nothing could rip her from the happiness she was now feeling. A while back James had peeled of his coat and pulled it around her shoulders when he noticed her shivering out of the corner of his eye. Shortly after he had pulled her closer to his body and placed an arm around her waist under the guise of keeping her warm. He knew what he was doing was highly inappropriate, why he had only ever held the hand of his ex-fiancé, while tonight he had pulled Miss Synnove against him and spent the majority of the night with her in his arms. James did not regret his actions, but he knew they would have to stop before he took even more inappropriate liberties against her. James knew that the more he enjoyed her company now, the harder it would be to say goodbye to her at the journey's end, yet he could not bring himself to put distance between them. He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt a weight push against his shoulder. James looked down to see that Synnove had moved a little closer and was resting her head against his shoulder and looking up at the night sky.

"The stars are different here," she said softly, "there are no Northern Lights, just a few stars and darkness."

James' eyes met with Synnove's and he was relieved to see that she was not crying, "When we are at sea I will introduce you to all of the constellations that way you will feel less lost."

"Thank you James, and when we are closer to home I will show you the Northern Lights, they are amazing," Synnove replied.

"I would like that very much," he said knocking upon the door to the Inn.

Malvina threw the door open moments later, casting a blinding light on the pair and welcomed them back inside to the heat before ushering them upstairs. She stayed downstairs to wait for Groves and her son to return.

James escorted Synnove to her room and bud her goodnight. He walked back downstairs to keep Malvina company until Groves and Gillette returned. He had not expected the pair to take so much longer to return as they had planned to leave almost immediately after James and Synnove. As the minutes passed by Malvina began to pace nervously around the room. She knew that worrying about her son would do no good, he was a grown man after all, but every time that he was late or too far away she would catch herself worrying about him. Finally at around half an hour later Groves and Gillette came through the door, much the relief of Malvina.

The pair offered a simple explanation for their lateness and then made their way upstairs, followed closely by Malvina and then James.

As he walked passed Synnove's bedroom door he saw the faint glow of a candle still lit. He knocked gently on the wooden door, but received no answer. He opened the door cautiously and peered inside seeing Synnove bundled up under the covers, fast asleep with a forgotten candle left burning. He smiled at her sleeping form and gently ran his fingers down the side of her face. When she let out a little sigh he froze, but seeing she was still asleep he leant over her and left a gentle kiss on her forehead before exiting her bedroom.

Groves turned to Gillette once he saw that James was nowhere to be seen and said, "should we mention what we overheard to Norrington?"

"I do not think so, at least not at the moment. They could have been referring to anyone."

"Then we shall keep an eye on the situation ourselves for the time being?"

"That would be the best course of action. If anything further develops we will tell him, there is no sense in causing Norrington more stress," Gillette said opening the door to his bedroom.

"Alright then," Groves said with a nod and entered his own room after bidding Gillette a good night.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who had left a review!  
Also thank you to everyone who added Serendipity to their favourite list or their alert list, it's you guys who keep me going.


	26. No Turning Back

By the time Synnove finally awoke the next day it was almost noon and her head was pounding in the most uncomfortable way. The curtains were still drawn shut, allowing some light to stream in, but Tortuga was silent. Tortuga was usually silent at this time of day. Most were still sleeping off hangovers, much like herself Synnove was ashamed to admit. She made an attempt to get out of bed and begin her day rather later than usual several times, but found the pounding in her head convinced her to lie still for a few more minutes. Synnove could not understand the appeal of drinking every night like the rest of the inhabitants of Tortuga if this was one of many unpleasant side effects. She rubbed her sore head in pain a few more times before making a last attempt to disentangle herself from the bed sheets and do something useful before the day was over.

Synnove stumbled about in a manner that almost had her convinced she was still intoxicated, but she knew after the sleep she had just enjoyed that this was impossible. Another nightmare free night was a blessing as far as she was concerned and if need be, then the hangover was worth it she decided. She threw back her curtains and winched as the daylight streamed through and hit her pale blue eyes. With the addition of the light she could now see what she was doing properly and was alarmed to find that, when she opened her wardrobe, that it was almost completely bare. Her usual disguise was nowhere to be found, along with the fine dresses Ma had gifted to her. Synnove stood back from the wardrobe and rubbed her aching head both in pain and in confusion. This was definitely her room for all of the furnishings were in the same place, but none of her things were where they should be.

The door opened behind Synnove, causing her to spin around and let out a started gasp. The fast movements caused her head to spin and her hands once again made their way up to caress her head. She would never drink again she swore to herself, but she knew this was a lie that most people told themselves at some point during their lives.

"I see that you are finally awake," Malvina said extending a glass of water to Synnove, "this will make you feel a bit better seeing as how you overindulged in the wine last night."

Synnove's eyes widened in embarrassment, "who told you that?"

"I did not need to be told child, with the way you were swaying about anyone would have thought you were a ship out at sea!" Malvina scolded in a light hearted manner.

"Surely I was not that bad?"

"Perhaps I was exaggerating, however Norrington all but carried you upstairs for fear you would fall over the railing."

"Oh dear."

"I am sure he had dealt with worse during his time. Now hurry up and get yourself into that dress there," she said pointing at the lone garment hanging in the wardrobe.

"But what about my disguise?"

"You need not worry about dressing that way anymore child. It would seem there has been a rescheduling of your departure," Malvina said, her voice taking on a low tone.

"What do you mean Ma?"

"The men returned earlier and told me that apparently the Captain has seen fit to depart a few days early."

"More like a week early, I wonder what could have changed his mind?" Synnove wondered aloud.

"Never mind child. They have been running trunks to the ship since he gave the orders, hence the lack of clothing in your room. Why I am surprised you did not wake the times I was in here packing your things for you. Although, with the sound of that snoring I do not think anything would have woken you."

"Oh Ma, you should have woken me! I should have been helping you, not laying about all day long."

"Nonsense my dear, business has been slow today, rest assured if we had more customers I would have woken you immediately," Malvina said, silencing Synnove's guilty words. "Come now my child, we have much to do before the ship departs. The bathtub in my room is full and newly warmed so snap to it before all the heat is gone," Malvina said motioning for Synnove to get going out the door.

Synnove stuck her head back around the corner and could not stop herself from asking, "I do not really snore that loudly do I Ma?"

The voice of Gillette answered from downstairs, "Don't worry Miss Synnove, your future husband can always invest in ear plugs!"

Malvina let out the loudest cackle Synnove had ever heard as she watched the young girl's face drop and an embarrassed blush light up her normally pale face. Malvina's laugh was shortly accompanied by that of her son. As the laughter continued Synnove could not help but join in despite the fact that she would have to hope that James was a very, very deep sleeper.

"How many trunks does one woman need?" Gillette complained seeing yet another trunk filled with who knows what awaiting him near the front door.

"As many as possible, and then some," Malvina said making her way down the stairs, "I could not allow Synnove to leave without having everything she could possibly need. So stop scowling and get going. You are leaving in a few hours are you not?"

"Yes Mother," Gillette replied with a roll of his eyes he knew he should have walked slower on the way back and allowed Groves or Norrington to arrive first, then they would be the ones carrying the final trunk instead of him.

"Hurry back so that you can have a decent lunch before you leave."

"What are we having?"

"You will just have to hurry back and find out."

"In another words, you have not decided what to make yet," Gillette said.

"Don't you have something you should be doing rather than making snarky comments towards your poor old Mother?"

Gillette scowled again and exited swiftly carrying the final trunk to the docks.

Malvina stood over the sink, wiping tears away from her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She had known they were to leave soon, but she had expected more time, she needed more time. Malvina had become fiercely attached to the young foreign girl with no Mother of her own. Malvina frowned at her appalling lack of self control, realistically, Synnove was nothing to her, she was no daughter or no other blood relation, nor was she a prospective daughter-in-law. Yet the moment the young one had confessed her situation Malvina could not muster the strength to throw her and Norrington out. They had lied to her yes, but they had done it to protect one another and Malvina could not fault them for that in the least, in fact, she had grown to respect them both for it. Malvina paced back and forth, hoping to stem the flow of tears down her face as she prepared lunch for the group one final time.

Lunch came and went all too fast for Malvina's liking and now she was locking the doors to the Inn and making her way down to the docks to see them all off. Synnove had her arm linked with Malvina's as they walked through the deserted daytime streets of Tortuga. Her son walked in front and Groves walked behind, Norrington was at Synnove's other side and looked rather disgruntled at the fact that Synnove was clinging to Malvina rather than him. Malvina rolled her eyes at the men's insistence, especially Norrington's, to protect them although at this time of the day Tortuga was utterly deserted.

Groves shook Malvina's hand, thanking her for everything she had done, before making his way up the gangplank onto the large ship before them. Norrington bid her farewell in much the same manner, but stopped halfway up to gangplank to wait for Synnove. He and Malvina had exchanged quick words which only they could hear, no matter how far Gillette leaned over to attempt to overhear. Gillette motioned for Synnove to say goodbye next. The two women wrapped their arms around each other and soon Synnove was letting out small sobs into the older woman's shoulder.

Malvina gently stroked Synnove's back saying, "stop your crying my child. You are going home, you should be happy!" Malvina said, barely keeping her own tears at bay.

"I am happy to be going home, but I wish you were coming as well."

"I cannot leave Tortuga little one, you know that. We all must make journeys to find where we belong and it is your turn to find that place," she whispered so that only Synnove could hear.

"I wish we belonged in the same place, all of us," Synnove whimpered.

"I have a feeling that that is not too far from the truth my young one, we will meet again. Send me letters, and I will send replies, I promise."

"I promise too Ma."

Malvina pushed Synnove back and cupped her face gently, "you look after those boys you hear. Philip gets himself in enough trouble as it is and where he goes Groves is never far behind," she said pausing slightly before broaching the more delicate topic. "Watch out for Norrington, he plays the hardened naval man role, but that wound in his chest still runs deep. Some scars cannot be healed by time, they need something more, something only a certain person can offer. Do you understand?"

"Of course Ma. I would never dream of hurting James and do not worry about the other two, if they step out of line I shall channel my inner Malvina and set them straight!"

Malvina let out a light chuckle at Synnove's choice of words, "do me proud my child," she said giving Synnove a final bone crushingly tight hug and pushing her off up the gangplank to Norrington.

Malvina and Philip stood talking for a few moments before she encased him in a similarly tight hug and pushed him away, much like she had done to Synnove. Groves, Norrington, Synnove and Philip all stood beside the railing waving their goodbyes to Malvina and to Tortuga.

Behind them Malvina could hear foreign sounding shouts of orders as the gangplank was pulled up, the sails were opened and the anchor was hauled up from the depths.

James' hand found its way to Synnove's and he entwined his fingers with hers without looking away from Tortuga. Silent tears were making their way down her face as the ship sailed further and further from Tortuga. When Synnove could no longer see Malvina standing on the docks James pulled her in closer. She buried her face in the folds of his jacket and shirt and allowed herself to be comforted by the feeling of his arms around her. Gillette ruffled her hair slightly and gave her a smile before walking off with Groves to find their room.

James knew embracing her was improper, but he convinced himself that letting her cry without comfort was even worse.

Before Malvina knew it the ship was but a speck in the distance, and she made her way back to the Inn. Malvina had been alone for a long time now, without her children and without her beloved husband, but this loneliness would take a while to get used to again. No son constantly hanging around to pester, no Groves to carry her groceries back and forth, no stuffy former Admiral to tease, no little Synnove to embarrass. Malvina sighed at the thought that things were going to be very quiet for a long time and only then did she let herself cry properly.

* * *

Hello my darling patient readers! Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their alerts.  
I'm sorry this one is short, this is sort of a bridge chapter – the action should be starting soon. I promise this story isn't all fluff (although I do enjoy the fluff). Also I'm sorry that this part took a while to make an appearance, you see I just got a PS3 and Tekken 6 has been my sole occupation this weekend (would be happier if I didn't keep losing).


	27. Falling

A week out at sea and James was already feeling restless. He was not used to being of so little use upon a ship and it was beginning to tax his nerves. The Captain had insisted that James, Gillette and Groves would be needed a lot during the beginning of the journey, because they were experienced former naval officers and most of the male passengers who were also travelling had no idea which side of the ship was which. They were on deck throughout the day showing the men what to do and how to do it, and then at night they were given supervising duties, allowing them very little time for sleep or much else. What made it worse was the fact that at the end of this week the men on duty with them would change meaning that James and his fellow ex naval officers would have to teach a new set of men what to do. This pattern was set to continue on for at least a month and none of them was pleased with the arrangement. Normally these duties would be given to the bosun, but as Stefan filled that role and his English was minimal at best, the Captain had decided that James, Groves and Gillette would be better suited than anyone else for the role.

What earned James' ire the most was the four legged shadow he had acquired his very first night upon the ship. It seemed to James that everywhere he went the dog followed, positively everywhere. If he turned around to quickly he would risk almost tripping over the old dog. He could not be certain what bred the dog was nor where it had come from, but he was sure nonetheless that he had seen this dog somewhere before. Groves and Gillette both agreed they two had seen the dog somewhere before, but it took Groves to pick out just where the dog had originally come from. Once Groves had figured it out the other two were amazed they did not see it first. What gave the dog away was the fact that between his jaws dangled a rusty set of keys. The same keys which had locked and less often unlocked the cells in the jail of Port Royal.

When James had told Synnove and her roommates the story of the dog, she had insisted that he be given a name, he was after all, going to be following James around for a very long time and calling him 'Mutt" or "Dog" would not suffice in her opinion. Out of all of the names Synnove could had chosen, she decided to call the dog Keys. James had asked her how calling the dog Keys was better than calling him Dog or Mutt, but he found she was somehow able to convince him that it was a much better name. He could not recall the exact words she had used to persuade him, but he was persuaded nonetheless. While James tolerated the constant presence of Keys making jingling noises behind him everywhere he went, Synnove was practically enamoured by the irritating beast. The only time the dog would leave him alone was at night. The dog had somehow managed to convince Synnove that he was a hard done by old soul and needed a warm comfortable bed to share and she was more than happy to oblige. A couple mornings in a row Antanasia had informed James that Synnove had fallen out of bed because of Keys stretching or turning over and kicking her out of the way, not that she complained at all. A part of James could not help but feel a little jealous of all of the attention she would show the dog, especially since he was usually too busy to spend time with her. It was all the more agonising for James considering how close physically they had been just a week before and now he barely caught a glimpse of her during meals or before she went to bed.

In quiet moments he found his mind drifting to places it always seemed to drift lately, Malvina had often asked him what he would do once his duty had been fulfilled and although much time had passed since the first time she asked, he was still no closer to the answer. A large part of him wished that they would never make it to Sweden so that he would never have to give her up back to her family, then they could travel the seas together for as long as they wished, but he knew that it was selfish of him to wish for such a thing. He had however made his mind up about one thing, if she asked him to stay with her; he would never leave her side again. Even if that meant he never saw the sea again, he would give it up to keep her.

Being able to spend so little time with James was also bugging Synnove, she knew he was doing what was required of him and as a man of duty he would do no less, but she still wished to at least spend breakfast with him, Gillette and Groves like she had done with Malvina. The Captain always whisked her companions off early in the morning after allowing them only a few hours sleep, more often than not meaning that they missed out on eating until much later on in the day and when they finally did get to eat all that was left was scraps as they were the last to the mess hall.

The first few days Synnove had spent solely below deck helping Yulia acquire her sea legs and rushing back and forth with a large bucket filled with contents she would rather not mention. Antanasia, like Synnove had absolutely no problem getting used to the constant rolling motion of the ship, but she did have a problem with the constant retching noises coming from her usually silent older sister. Their Mother also claimed to have a weak stomach where such ailments were concerned, leaving Synnove to deal with unpleasant task at hand. During that time Yulia had slowly opened up to Synnove and now the pair were easily able to make conversation. Synnove smiled at the thought that after many years of being rather friendless, she was finally making friends in the most unlikely of places.

"Good morning Gillette, good morning Groves," Synnove said smiling at the pair while concealing her hands behind her back.

"Good morning Miss Synnove," they said in formal response.

"I saw that you were once again absent from breakfast."

"The Captain had some pressing matters apparently," Gillette said.

"But we haven't been given anything to do as of yet," added Groves.

"Utterly infuriating if you ask me, the least he could do is give us something productive to do to take my mind off my hunger," Gillette said with a displeased huff.

"Never mind his temper Miss Synnove, Gillette always has his mind on food and if he does not get it then you had best stay clear of him for a good while."

"That is why I am here!" she said happily, bringing her hidden hands in front of her. Balanced perfectly were three bowls of partially warm porridge with spoons, not the most appetising meal for starving men, but it was all that she could find.

Gillette lurched forward and grabbed one of the bowls from Synnove's hands, "you are an Angel of Mercy Miss Synnove!" he exclaimed before greedily shoving spoonfuls of porridge into his mouth. Groves took the second bowl from Synnove in a much more polite manner, rolling his eyes at his apparently starved companion.

"Thank you Miss Synnove. I suspect the third bowl is for Norrington?" Groves asked.

"Yes, do you know where he is?"

Gillette pointed to the back of the ship where James was at the helm, Captain Gibbons, with a glass of wine in his hand stood next to James. As usual at James' other side Keys sat patiently beside him, "He's been up there all morning steering the ship. I do not know why, though I suspect it has something to do with the Captain's wine glass."

"Thank you Gillette, I will see you two later then."

Synnove walked up the steps to stand on the same level as James and the Captain. Keys leapt forward from James' side and darted towards Synnove, his tail wagging happily and the keys in his mouth jangling about.

"Ah Synnove my dear, good morning!" Captain Gibbons said, a little too loudly. His eyes wandered up and down Synnove's body subtly, but not subtle enough to escape James' ever watchful gaze.

"Good morning Captain, good morning James!" she said happily, bending down to pat Keys on the head while keeping the bowl of food out of his reach.

"Good morning Miss Synnove," James said return her happy smile with a little less happiness and a lot more tiredness.

Stefan came bounding up the stairs and stood next to his Captain, he whispered something in the Captain ear so silently that neither Synnove nor James could hear his words.

"Ah yes, Herr Norrington, Stefan will take over for now, please go enjoy the morning and show Synnove around my magnificent ship!"

James gently grabbed Synnove's arm and lead her down the stairs seeing how uneasy she appeared when Stefan arrived. When they reached the bottom of the stairs she found herself somewhat nervous for no particular reason and remained silent before she finally spoke, "Here James, this is for you. I noticed you missed breakfast again along with Groves and Gillette so I brought you all breakfast."

"Thank you Miss Synnove," he said taking the bowl from her, brushing his calloused flesh against her soft skin, "no doubt Gillette took the first bowl?"

"Yes, he acted like a man who had not eaten in months. If you are still hungry, I can try to find more leftovers."

"This will be more than enough Miss Synnove," James spooned the porridge into his mouth at a pace which could rival Gillette's. He finished most of what was in his bowl before bending down and giving the rest to Keys who ate the remainders as quickly as James had.

"I thought you did not like Keys?" Synnove asked.

"The dog has grown on me I suppose and I could just imagine the look on your face if I did not save him any," James said looking at Synnove.

"I do not know what you mean James," she said with a smile.

"You would pull that sad pouting face and ask how I could ignore a creature which was obviously in need and then I would give in and share my meal with the beast."

"I would not have done so this time."

"And why would that be Miss Synnove?"

"Because I already fed Keys half of my breakfast," she said with a laugh, which only increased in volume as she saw the look on James' face.

"I should have known that would be the case," he said shaking his head. He left Keys eating out of his discarded bowl and laced his arm through Synnove's beginning to lead her around the deck with a simple invitation of, "shall we?"

"How are your roommates treating you? I know I should have asked earlier, but I never got the chance," James asked.

"Antanasia is wonderful and Yulia is slowly becoming less shy around me, she really is incredibly intelligent you know. She is trying to teach me some Romanian so that I can read at least parts of the books she had brought along with her."

"Is English not enough of a challenge for you Miss Synnove," James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, that is definitely not the case. I just do not have anything to read during the daytime and Yulia has more than enough, so she volunteered to teach me. I must confess that I am not all that grand at it."

"I am sure that is not true Miss Synnove."

"If you heard the way Antanasia and Yulia laugh at my pronunciation I am sure you would agree with me, but I do not mind," she said smiling up at James to reassure him. By now Keys had caught up with them and was walking right next to James whilst Synnove was closest to the railing. Something caught Keys' eye and he darted away in front to stick his head between the railings, his keys discarded on the floor at his side while he barked at something in the water.

Synnove raised a questioning eyebrow at James who returned her curious gesture. They quicken their paces, intrigued by what had Keys so riled up. As she was the closest to the railings Synnove saw what it was first. "Look James, dolphins!" she cried out happily tugging gently at his sleeve with her free hand.

The rest of the men on deck paid no attention to Keys or Synnove as they both stared in wonder at the strange aquatic animals. James smiled at how easy it was for Synnove to become excited, he had seen dolphins swimming beside the ship for as long as he had been sailing and thus they were of little interest to him. "Yes Miss Synnove I see them."

"Aren't they fascinating?" she asked rhetorically, before turning to Keys and attempting to quieten his barking. Strangely enough the dog chose that moment to stop barking, for James simply could not believe the stubborn animal would have actually followed her orders. Synnove leant further over the ledge watching the movements of the dolphins intently, but she still kept her arm threaded with James'.

"Be careful around the edge Miss Synnove, I do not know when this ship was last given a maintenance check and I do not want you to fall overboard."

Synnove immediately took a step back and removed her free arm from its leaning position on the railing. Immediately his mind began making a comparison between Synnove's actions and what Miss Swann would have done if she were in the same position. Where Miss Synnove had listened to the voice of reason, Miss Swann would have taken it as a challenge to see how far she could lean over before disaster struck. He tried not to compare the two women very often, but sometimes his mind made the comparisons before he was even conscious of it.

"I know that you would not let me fall too far James," Synnove said. James reflexively tightened his grip around her arm in response and said, "of course not."

Synnove looked over to where Groves and Gillette were standing earlier and was surprised to see that Yulia had finally gained the confidence in her newly acquired sea legs to finally make her way topside, her younger sister faithfully at her side. Antanasia was talking animatedly to the two former naval officers, but Synnove and James were too far away to hear what the easily excited young lady had to say. She could see that Yulia was struggling to be sociable as she wrung her hands together awkwardly and her eyes darted around as if she was looking for a way to escape. Yulia's eyes connected with Synnove's and she could see the helplessness swimming in her eyes. Synnove did the only thing she could do to get Yulia out of the current situation. "Yulia, Antanasia, come look over here, there are dolphins!" Synnove called out to them loudly so that she could be heard across the ship. James leant sideways away from her yelling and rubbed the ear closest to her in an exaggerated manner.

"I am sorry James, I did not intend to hurt you," she said adjusting her volume to better suit his proximity.

"With a voice like that you could rival Old Malvina," he said and smirked at her.

"I wish! You were never around when she tried to teach me to cook!" Synnove said.

Antanasia grabbed on to her older sister with one hand and Groves' jacket with the other, dragging them both behind her with Gillette bringing up the rear without having to be dragged by the surprisingly strong child.

"Wow Nove you were right, there are dolphins!" Antanasia exclaimed climbing the railings and leaning over to get a closer look. Yulia moved closer to her sister in a protective manner, but before James could warn them the railing gave way beneath the small child and she went toppling into the cold ocean below. Yulia's arm shot out and latched on to her sister at the same time as Synnove's grip tightened around the girl. The forward momentum pulled the two girls along with Antanasia and wrenched Synnove out of James' grasp.

James could do nothing as he watched in a sort of slow motion as she fell from him and into the depths below, just like Miss Swann.

* * *

Thank you to all of my readers and an especially large than you to Norrieo and –my-forgotten-rose- for all of their wonderful support.  
Norrieo – I do have that picture of James saved on my computer (I certainly would not delete it!).


	28. Lost Inside Ourselves

She was falling, right before his very eyes; she was falling away from him and there was nothing that he could do to stop her from falling further. James threw off his coat, just like he had done last time, but this time there were no rocks to stop him from following her to the depths.

Synnove hit the water backwards, her eyes never leaving James' as she fell. She could see the look of pure horror etched onto his face.

Somewhere amidst the confusion she had lost her grip on Antanasia as well as losing any sight of her or Yulia. As she struggled to move towards the surface she felt something wrap around her arm. At first she tried to brush the item away but it only held her tighter. She forced her eyes to open in the stinging sea water and she saw thick black netting all around her. The nets entangled themselves around Synnove's limbs, much like they do during her nightmares. They dug deeper and deeper into her skin cutting her and spilling her red blood into the ocean. Each time James came close to grabbing her, she was wrenched away by the motions of the nets. His failure did not deter him though and he reached out to her again and was finally able to get a strong grip onto her much smaller hand. He felt the same vicious tugging on the nets which was threatening to rip Synnove from his grip once again. Every time he tried to drag her sinking body closer whatever was on the other end of the net was stronger than him and if he didn't find a way to free her soon she would surely drown. If only he could find the weights that were dragging her downwards he could cut them lose. There was little breath left in his lungs and he knew Synnove would be far worse off. Her eyes were slowly drifting closed as she lost consciousness. James dropped her hand and propelled himself back to the surface. He forced his starved lungs full of air before plunging back down to Synnove.

Now that she had stopped struggling against the nets the violent tugging ceased and she slowly began to sink. James had left her, there was nothing that he could have done to save her and she would rather him live than risk his own life to save her. A strangely comforting darkness began to creep across her eyes and she realised that she was dying. Synnove closed her eyes and went limp, allowing whatever fate had in store for her to occur, essentially, she was giving up.

James watched as her limp body sunk delicately deeper into the water, salt water and tears stung his eyes as he felt helpless to save her. He had promised to keep her safe and now he was failing miserably. If she survived this encounter, she would never trust his word again. He struggled desperately to swim down to her, but the buoyancy of his body wouldn't let him sink down that far. With nothing to grab onto and pull himself down further he was rapidly running out of options. The nets which wrapped around her body sliced into his fingers drawing blood and forcing him to let go, it was strange for a net to be so sharp, but he did not have time to ponder the ramifications now.

One of the dolphins Synnove had been admiring earlier butted its head again James' arm. He had never heard of these creatures being vicious, but he was wary nonetheless. All around him more of the dolphin's pods were swimming about, there had to be at least twenty of them nearby. Only one persistent dolphin kept coming back closer to him and butting him with its head, the rest stayed back and made strange clicking sounds amongst themselves. James tried to push the beast away and focus on the task at hand, but it was proving to be impossible. Each time he pushed it away it returned clicking louder each time and becoming pushier with what it apparently wanted. James looked at the dolphin with a raised eyebrow before throwing an arm around it and grabbing on tightly. It seemed to be exactly what the dolphin wanted because as soon as James had a firm grip the dolphin sped towards Synnove's limp body. It moved with ease, suffering from none of the problems which James had encountered moments before and within seconds they were within reach of her. The sapphire teardrop necklace around Synnove's throat was emitting a light blue glow which reflected into the dolphin's eyes as it made its approach. James feared that the nets would cut into the innocent animal as well and was about to let go of it and send it away when the nets seemed to dissolve before his very eyes. Her limbs were free, but she was still sinking and no longer conscious enough to fight against her imminent doom. With his free hand he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her body flush against his own. With his arm still partially around the dolphin James cupped Synnove's face in his hands and pulled her closer than he had ever dared to do before. He pulled her face closer to his and pressed his lips to her own. He did not have time to savour the moment as he would have wished to do under different circumstances. James forced what little air he still had in his lungs into Synnove's open mouth. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly but other than that there was no movement. Every second that she did not move felt like an eternity to James and panic quickly rose to the surface of his always calm façade. He moved his arm back down around her waist and pulled her in closer before making his way to the surface.

James was so preoccupied with getting Synnove to the surface that he almost missed the fact that he was flanked on all sides by the dolphins. It was a magnificent sight, but it was still unnerving being so close to such strange aquatic animals and having them apparently helping him and Miss Synnove.

When he finally breached the surface of the water he began frantically looking around for something to place Synnove on so that he could try to make her breathe again. They had drifted many meters away from the ship by now, too far away to make out if anyone was still on deck. The ship only had one lifeboat to begin with and that he could see was being used to carrying the other two women who had fallen at the same time. He could see the small boat getting further away from him and closer to the ship, but he had no voice with which to signal where he was. The salt water had made its way into his lungs and robbed his voice from him as well as making it difficult to breathe properly. His clothing was getting heavier, beginning to weigh him down in the water and Synnove's limp body was also making it difficult to stay afloat. There was nothing he could do but try and stay afloat for long enough for the lifeboat to make its way back over to them, that was, if it even saw them in the first place. This entire ordeal was getting worse by the second and there was nothing that James could do now but wait helplessly.

Synnove's skin was ice cold to the touch, almost as if she was already dead, but the slight rise and fall of her chest gave him hope, however slight the motion was. There were lacerations all over her arms from where the nets had been cutting into her pale skin and her blood continued to seep from her into the sea. There was nothing he could do to stop the bleeding; he just wished that her injury would not attract any other sorts of less friendly aquatic life. Although with the dolphins still circling around James was somewhat reassured.

"Please wake up Synnove!" James pleaded with her still unmoving body. He cupped her face once again, trailing his fingers down her cheeks and over her blue tinged lips. He was amazed that she could still look so beautiful even when she was in a state such as this.

"Please wake up Synnove, I refuse to believe that destiny entwined us just to rip us apart later," he said to no response. Her body was getting heavier in his arms, but he refused to let go for fear that she would sink away from him again.

"Why is it every time I get a grip on something, it is ripped away from me?" he asked but knew he would receive no answer.

"Please Synnove, please wake up," James chocked back the painful feeling rising from his heart, he was a man and men do not cry, James would not cry for her while there was still hope.

Moments passed by like hours as they drifted further from the ship, moving helplessly along with the motions of the tides.

"I am sorry that I could not protect you like I promised, but if you wake up now I promise nothing else will happen to you. I will take care of you," he told her unhearing ears. "You know if your Father won't have you back in his house after you return I want you to stay with me. Of course I want you to stay with me anyway Synnove, but I cannot allow myself to be that selfish. I just want you to know that you will always have a home with me, you will not ever have to worry about being alone," he told her trying to keep his mind occupied on the future rather than the grim present. He told her things he had been thinking about for a while now, but had never said out loud because it was crossing the fine line he had set for himself. Now that no one could hear him, he finally felt it was alright to tell her everything he had been thinking about her future, with him. "Perhaps we could go to England, I think Mother would find you delightful; you would have to forgive my Father though, he dislikes all manner of foreigners greatly. My two older sisters take after Father though, so you will have to forgive them as well, but at least you are not French." He said with a slight laugh, slowly losing his grip on the situation at hand.

James was losing the energy to fight against the ocean any longer and with that realisation he allowed a tear to slip from his eye and fall onto Synnove's pale cheek. He wiped the offending tear from her skin and lowered his face to hers once more. "I love you Synnove, please wake up," he said so close to her lips that they brushed together for the briefest of moments. "I know the way I act doesn't show it, but I do love you. I want to marry you, make you Mrs. Norrington, if you would agree to it. Then after that we could have children of our own, a little boy and a little girl, would you like that Synnove?" he asked once again receiving no response. James' words came out sounding like a drunken slur, his head was aching and stopping him from curbing his words like any sensible man would do. He knew he would have never spoken these words if Synnove had been conscious and he would never speak them again, he had no right to ask these things of her. He knew once they arrived in Sweden she would be safely home with a family that loved her and then they would part ways forever. James would not look back and she would never think of him again, that was the way things had been in the past and how things would be in the future. Still at the moment he could not contain his traitorous words as they spilled forth, "I love you," he said again before lowering his lips to hers properly and kissing her. He kissed her repeatedly while whispering his love over and over again until he felt himself falling asleep. James knew that he was not falling asleep, he was losing consciousness.

* * *

So I have been fretting ever since I wrote this chapter that maybe James was a little out of character… hopefully he isn't though.  
Thank you to all who have added me to your alerts or favourites!

-my-forgotten-rose- here is the kiss you have been waiting for, what a shame a certain young lady wasn't conscious to enjoy it (I'll enjoy it for her though).  
Norrieo – if you go to my profile page and click the 'Homepage' link it will take you to my photobucket account where you will (hopefully) find the picture you are looking for.


	29. All Those ILoveYou's Lost

When James awoke next he found that he was being dragged into the lifeboat by his arms. Weakly he began to haul himself into the boat, but he was not yet fully conscious, he could barely remember what happened to him, or how he got into the water. Groves slapped him on the back a couple of times to help him cough up all of the salt water which he had swallowed. The salt water scratched painfully at his throat and he felt like vomiting, but he managed to hold it down. It was at that moment that James suddenly remembered all that had happened; he looked frantically around trying to find Miss Synnove either somewhere still in the ocean or hopefully in the boat somewhere.

Groves noticed the frantic look upon James' face and patted his old friend on the back before moving out of the way and letting James see the opposite end of the lifeboat where Miss Synnove was lying, still unconscious, "there she is," he said simply.

James hauled himself up in the rocking boat and darted over to her side, one of the men who was sitting nearest to her looked up at James and grimly said, "she has not moved since we pulled her out." He then moved aside and allowed James to sit down behind her and cradle her unresponsive body in his arms.

"Is there a doctor on board the ship?" James asked, he had not seen a doctor on board, but he had no reason to look for one until now.

"Aye," replied one of the other men in the boat, "he aint really a doctor, but he knows how to sew people up."

"Should be fine in no time," a third sailor added.

Groves and James exchanged concerned looks. A ship as large as the _Engel Lied_ needed a proper doctor, not just some man with some apparent sewing skills. They would have to put their faith in a man who could potentially no as much about medicine as James did, which was not much at all. The prospect terrified James, and yet this was a kind of danger one frequently faced whilst at sea. Something could go wrong in the blink of an eye and there would be no one to provide the adequate assistance. James was furious; if he was Captain of this voyage then he would not have left port without a doctor he could trust with his own life. Captain Gibbons was a fool for allowing such an oversight to take place, and he was no better himself for not checking the situation more thoroughly before trusting the word of his cousin. There were so many things he should have done before allowing Synnove to board the ship, but he overlooked so much, he was disgusted with himself. Although he could not have foreseen such a turn of events, but that did not stop him from scolding himself and cursing the Captain any less.

Throughout the row back to the ship James cradled Synnove in his arms and remained silent, as if a single word would change her condition for the worst. She still had not stirred, but her chest rose and fell in the characteristic manner of breathing, for that at least he was grateful. Groves and the three other men continued to row, but unlike James they had no fear of talking. James drowned out their incessant chatter with the millions of worried thoughts clouding his mind. He should have at least asked her if she could swim before they had embarked on this journey, but the night he had told her he had found them a ship she was just too excited and happy to distract with practical questions. Her small arms wrapped around him and the beautiful smile on her face certainly never helped him to properly focus his attention when she was around. She was such a distraction from her own safety, but a highly pleasant distraction nonetheless. It cut him right to the bone that only moments before she had told him she never needed to worry because she knew he would always be there to save her. Within seconds he had failed her and betrayed the trust she had given to him since the moment that they had met. When she woke up he would beg her for forgiveness, on his hands and knees if he needed to. James briefly considered asking Groves and Gillette to take his place and watch over Synnove's safety, but he dismissed the idea. He could bear the thought of entrusting her care to someone else. He of course knew that Groves and Gillette would not let him down, but he did not want to let his grip on her go, even in the slightest until he absolutely had to.

James lost track of time as the boat neared the ship. He was only alerted to the fact that they had made it when he head Groves shout "pull us up, quickly now!" Groves shouted over the chaos on board.

The other passengers on deck scrambled around to haul the small lifeboat up and out of the cold water. Groves leapt out first, barking orders for the doctor to be brought up on deck and the men snapped to attention, almost as if they had been trained to react in such a way to orders. James lifted himself and Synnove out of the boat, he held her like a husband held their wife when carrying her across the threshold of their new home, but this was no such happy occasion. She still did not stir in his arms and his legs were buckling slightly from her weight combined with his exhaustion. He stumbled forth and lowered himself to the ground with her still tightly held in his arms. The other passengers scattered out of his way, making as much room as possible but still being close enough to hear everything that was going on. If James had been more aware of his surroundings he would have glared at the vulture like passengers and scared them off, but at that moment all he cared about was the small woman lying limp in his arms.

Her skin was freezing cold, like she was partially made of ice and it had a light blue tinge to it. Her normally full red lips were purple with the cold and her eyes remain closed. No part of Synnove's body moved apart from the slight rise and fall of her chest. Even then one had to really concentrate to see that she was indeed breathing. James cradled her head against his shoulder and whispered at her to please wake up, but still she did not stir. He ran his fingers through the tangles in her long hair, trying to make her move in some way, but it was all fruitless. Synnove simply lay in his arms unmoving.

Antanasia was cuddling close to Yulia with tears coming out of her eyes, "it is all my fault," she whimpered into her sisters embrace. Antanasia was wrapped in what appeared to be a coat that belonged to Groves and Yulia was wrapped in a blanket of some sort, but both were visibly shivering from the cold of the water mixed with the cold of the biting wind.

"It was an accident Antanasia, it could have happened at any time," Yulia reassured her.

"That is not what Mr. Norrington will think! Or the others, they will all blame me."

"I know for a fact that Miss Synnove will not blame you young Miss Osmosechu, she is far too kind to do such a thing," Groves said, turning to the distraught young girl, trying to provide her with some form of comfort.

"See Antanasia, no one will blame you," Yulia confirmed rubbing her sisters back, trying to stop her from crying. Yulia gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile to Groves, he was the one who pulled her out of the ocean after all. She could still feel his hands around her body, pulling her much closer than she had ever been to a man before in her life, in fact, much closer than she had ever dreamed of being to a man. She would have been frozen in terror had she not been terrified for her and her younger sisters lives. Groves had saved Yulia and she promised herself she would make it up to him, somehow.

"And if Miss Synnove does not blame you, then Norrington will not blame you either rest assured," Groves said patting Antanasia gently on the head.

"But what if she does not survive, she has not moved yet!" Antanasia sobbed.

Norrington had heard nothing of the conversation until Antanasia spoke those words and they struck him right to the very soul. He was holding onto Synnove's unmoving body, cradling her upper body in his arms rocking her back and forth slightly and quietly pleading for her to wake up while someone went to fetch the ship's doctor. Keys sat beside James whimpering and nuzzling his face into Synnove's hand, which would usually come alive and stroke him between the ears. James' eyes darted to Antanasia as soon as she uttered those words. His eyes were full of sorrow for a split second before they filled with hatred, all of which was directed to the small child. The force of his glare made the girl shrink back into her sister and begin crying with more force.

"You are wrong Groves, even if Synnove can find it in her heart to forgive, I most certainly will not," he said, hatred and venom dripping from every word.

Yulia spoke to anyone other than her family or Synnove for the first time after James' comment, "it was an accident! Antanasia is as much a victim as Miss Synnove!" she exclaimed, "getting angry and blaming her will do you no good!"

"It was because of her actions that I was unable to protect Synnove!" James shouted. His words silenced any further comments, but the sobbing of the small girl and the whimpering of the dog continued.

It seemed like an eternity before the doctor finally showed up on deck. He was carrying a black leather bag, filled with the instruments of his trade. He was a short bespectacled man with white hair and shaking hands. The Doctor was an old man by the name of Joseph Watkins and he appeared to have been practicing medicine since the practice was invented, if the deep wrinkles of his skin were anything to go by. Truth be told, Doctor Watkins hated medicine for as long as he could remember, but his Father had been a Doctor, and his Father before him so it was inevitable that he should carry on the family tradition. He would have been much happier being a simple fisherman, but alas that was not the destiny he was chosen to follow. He had reluctantly agreed to become the ship's Doctor because it allowed him the freedom of fishing off the side of the ship during the times that he was not needed. James, Groves and Gillette had come to learn this during one of their many nights spent supervising the smooth sailing of the ship. Something he had refrained from telling his fellow sailors was that at his advanced age, he had forgotten most of the things that he had learnt in medical school. Many nights drinking alone after the untimely death of his young bride had served to wipe his memory clean of many once important things. He could not save his own wife and he knew he could not save the young woman lying before him. Doctor Watkins however did not want to make such a fact obvious, he planned to spend the rest of his life sailing on this ship, doing as he pleased and letting slip that he could not do his job would certainly see the end of his plans. He put on his best 'Doctors face' as he liked to call it and set about pretending to examine the young girl.

He placed the cold stethoscope over Synnove's heart and nodded in the authoritative looking manner he had perfected over the years. His light brown eyes turned to James and he said, "she is alive."

James bit his tongue to hold back the obvious snarky reply to the old Doctor; it would do Synnove no good for him to get into an argument with the only Doctor for miles of treacherous ocean.

Doctor Watkins continued, "the most we can do for her is to move her to her room and keep her warm until she eventually wakes up."

"Is that all?" Gillette shouted over the commotion on deck. He stood to one side of James while Groves stood to the other side.

"Yes I am afraid that is all that can be done. I have seen this many times before, all she needs is to be kept warm and dry and she will recover in no time," Doctor Watkins said, lying through his teeth to the companions of his patient, not that they were any the wiser. Doctor Watkins had no idea to do with the girl, she was obviously unconscious, but his mind no longer remembered what to do in such a situation, so he did as he usually did and made it up as he went along. He shook his head slightly, women were always such a pest on ocean journeys, always coming down with something or suffering from some ailment which no one told him about until it was too late for him to skip off the journey.

His light brown eyes surveyed the people standing the closest to half-dead girl before him and they immediately fell on the Osmosechu sisters. His eyes narrowed, more trouble he thought to himself. The younger of the two should know better than to take such risks, especially in her condition.

"Miss Antanasia?" He questioned.

"Yes Doctor?"

"Do you share a room with this young woman?"

"Yes, so does my sister."

"You will have to find another room to stay in until she wakes up. It is not safe for you to be around her in your condition."

"Oh, what about Yulia, will she be alright in there?"

"Miss Yulia will be fine, she does not share your, ahem, ailment," he explained to the young girl.

Doctor Watkins stood from his kneeling position on the deck, "Mr, Norrington, if you would be so kind as to carrying your female companion down to her room?"

Norrington only nodded in response, he did not trust his voice not to betray the despair he felt building up every moment she did not move.

"Miss Yulia, run off and find as many spare blankets as you can. This woman needs to be kept warm," he ordered.

"I will accompany you Miss Osmosechu," Groves said turning and following behind the two young women.

"Alright then, let us get her moved," the Doctor said clapping his hands together and leading the way down the stairs.

"Let me help you Norrington," Gillette said, bending and scoping Synnove up into his arms and lifting her from the deck.

James stood up as quickly as his exhausted limbs would let him and took Synnove back into his arms, "thank you."

"There is no need for that Norrington," Gillette said with a nod, effectively ending the potentially awkward conversation.

James cradled Synnove in his arms down through the levels of the ship, passing many curious passengers on the way to Synnove's shared bedroom. Keys trailed behind, whimpering every so often with his tail between his legs.

Yulia came darting back into the room carrying a chair with Groves following behind carrying a mountain of blankets they had found. Yulia placed the chair next to what must have been Synnove's bed and took the blankets from Groves and placed them on her bed. She turned to the men in the room and meekly ordered them to "get out."

"What? Why should I leave?" James began.

"She needs to be changed out of her wet clothing, so get out. You can come back when I am done. Antanasia, stay out of here," she ordered when she saw her younger sister hovering near the door.

"I want to help!" the younger girl exclaimed.

"Do not make me tell Mother that you are ignoring the Doctor's orders!" Yulia threatened, knowing the one definite way to make her younger sister stop whining.

The younger girl let out a string of words in a language only her Mother and her sister could understand before stomping away back to her Mother's room.

"I am telling Mother you said that!" Yulia shouted after Antanasia. Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces she blushed, "I am sorry about that. Now hurry up and put her down and leave so I can get Synnove into something warm and dry."

James placed Synnove gently down on the bed and then reluctantly left the room with Groves and Gillette following him out and shutting the door behind him.

James crossed him arms over his chest and leant against the door behind him. He kept his head down and his loose hair covered his face from view. Finally he spoke, "Groves, will you please grab my coat from my bed. It will help to keep her warm," James requested, seating himself down in the chair next to Synnove's bed that Yulia had just brought in.

"Of course," Groves said leaving the room to find James' Admiral's coat.

Gillette stepped forward patted James on the back, "she will be fine."

James grunted before saying, "I hope you are right Gillette, I hope you are right."

The stood there for in silence until Groves returned and Yulia opened the door signalling that it was appropriate for them to enter.

Yulia had changed Synnove's clothes and brushed the tangles from her damp hair before allowing the men back in. Synnove was lying on the bed with her hands at her sides and her legs straight as a board. James choked back tears as he looked at her prone form. From the way she was lying so still and straight on the bed, with her pale skin even more pale than usual, it look like she was truly dead. It looked as though she had been laid out for the funeral director to begin his business with yet another young lady taken before her time. James kept his head down and his mouth firmly shut as he pulled her into his arms and wrapped his coat around her small body. He lifted her from the bed and Yulia pulled back the sheets, pulling them back up once Synnove had been placed gently between them. Yulia and Groves began piling blankets on top of her until they could see that she was no longer shaking from the cold.

"I will stay with my Mother and sister tonight, please stay with Synnove for as long as you wish," Yulia said before backing out of the room.

"We will take your shifts until you feel ready to come back Norrington," Gillette said.

James turned his eyes to his two closest friends and managed to a simple "thank you," before turning his attention back to Synnove. James lowered himself into the seat Yulia had provided earlier and pulled one of Synnove's hands from underneath the covers. He entwined her stiff ice cold fingers with his own and sat in silence gazing at the wall, but not seeing anything.

After a while of silence the Doctor finally reappeared, "excellent work all of you!" he praised; "now if anyone need me I shall be fishing off the side of the ship. Good day!" Doctor Watkins said sweeping from the room and making his way back on deck. When he was far enough away to not be overheard he let out a sigh, "that girl will never see the light of day again. It is a shame really, she was a pretty wee thing," he said to himself before continuing on his way.

Shortly after the Doctor left, Groves and Gillette slipped from the room, leaving James in peace with Synnove's unconscious form.

* * *

I am so glad everyone thought James wasn't out of character in the last chapter. You have no idea how long I agonized over the chapter before posting it 0_0  
Don't worry though – we are nowhere near the end yet!

Norrieo – I am glad you are finding Synnove a worthy challenger for James' affections! And of course you can use those lines. Would you be amazed if I said I don't find Will Turner good looking, so I find the appeal of choosing him over James even more absurd! Oh and before I forget – I finally finished 'Wives and Daughters' Tom Hollander is so gorgeous in that show! He really deserves more recognition, as does Mr. Davenport!


	30. Hollow Nights And  Empty Days

James had not moved from his position at Synnove's side since she had been placed there. The curtains were closed over the window, so James had no way of telling what the time was or even if it was the same day. He could have fallen asleep during his stay by her side, but he did not know, nor did he honestly care. The only thing that he cared about was Synnove waking up and giving him a smile. At this moment he would give anything for her to sit up, look at him with her enchanting blue eyes and tell him she was just playing, that she had been awake all the time. Then she would smile at him and throw her arms around his neck and cuddle up to his chest, he would give anything for that to happen. But as he watched her unmoving form, he knew it was becoming less and less likely as time marched on.

A jingling sound broke James away from his thoughts and he looked down to see Keys lying on the floor with a look of sadness filling his eyes. James clicked his fingers and Keys moved closer, resting his head on James knee and let out a small whimper. With one hand James stroked Keys and with the other he held onto Synnove. Keys continued to whine and whimper causing James to finally break down. He slumped forward, burying his face in the blankets covering Synnove's body. With his head resting on her stomach he let out small strangled sobs. They were so quiet that anyone who passed the room would not have heard him, but he forced himself to be quiet anyway. His Father would have punished him rightly if he could see the way James was crying now, and the fact that he was crying over a woman would have made his punishment all the more harsh. Men were not supposed to feel sad and they were forbidden from crying, but James could just not hold back his emotions any longer. He utterly hated himself afterwards for being so weak, but at that moment nothing could hold back the well of tears that had been building up.

James sat bolt upright as he felt the pressure of a soothing hand running up and down his back, but as he turned to face the owner of the hand, there was nothing there. James and Keys were the only conscious beings in the rooms, but still he could swear he felt a hand on his back. He shook the feeling of unease away and turned his concentration back to Synnove. He linked his fingers in hers with one hand and used the other to gently curl the ends of her hair in an absentminded gesture. His body was in the room with Synnove, but his mind was a million miles away. If James had been paying closer attention to Keys he would have noticed the fact that the dog had stopped his whimpering and was watching something behind James. Keys' tail twitched happily as he watched whatever it was moving about the room. But James paid no attention to the beast and so he was none the wiser to the peculiar antics of the beast.

When Synnove first opened her eyes she was struck by a strange wrenching sensation in her chest radiating out to her limbs. She looked down at her body to try and figure out what was wrong, but saw that instead of her body being solid like it always had been, she was completely transparent and floating above what she saw was her body laying on the bed. Synnove stretched her transparent arms out to her solid body but found she could not move any closer to her body no matter how much she thrashed about. It was like there were ropes holding her back, but she could not see them else she would have pulled at them until they came undone. Synnove screamed and pulled herself forward, struggling every which way to get closer to her body so that hopefully she could wake up, but nothing worked. With time, and after much struggling Synnove was able to put her transparent feet upon the floor and walk around. The more time that passed, the closer she was able to get to her body, but she could not touch it, or get too close as whenever she did, Synnove was thrown backwards away from the body she desperately wanted to be reunited with.

Synnove watched as James sat at her side, holding her pale hand in his own and either play with her hair or caress her face. His eyes would glaze over with unshed tears from time to time, but she saw he always managed to shake them away. The one time he did let himself cry Synnove watched on, unable to do anything to comfort him or to assure him that she was still there. She concentrated with all that she had left inside of her and stroked his back, she could not feel anything, no warmth or comfort of her own from the touch of his body, but it was obvious he could feel her. As soon as she stroked his back he sat bolt upright and turned around. He looked right at where she was standing, but he saw nothing. The truly horrified look on his face told her he felt something, but that he had dismissed it for some logical reason or another. Synnove sighed, feeling so utterly frustrated that she was trapped outside of her body and so far away from James.

Keys on the other hand noticed Synnove straight away and his eyes stayed glued her. From that moment Synnove felt a little better, knowing that Keys could see her meant that she was still real, it gave her a small piece of hope to hold on to.

James would only leave Synnove's side for short amounts of time, attending to certain things that needed to be attended to and then returning immediately afterwards. Each time he left he would leave a kiss on forehead and then he would sweep from the room. Keys would stay with Synnove; James had lifted him onto her bed a while ago and allowed him to sleep next to her still unmoving form. James trusted that Keys would keep her safe any way that the beast could, dogs were, if nothing else loyal to those who they followed.

When James was gone Yulia would bring Antanasia with her into the room to visit Synnove. They would talk to her unconscious body and tell her mundane things that had happened since her absence. Antanasia would spend most of her time crying over Synnove and apologising over and over for what had happened before Yulia would take her back to the room they were now sharing with their Mother.

Groves and Gillette would also visit together. They would also talk to her and tell her that she should hurry up and wake up because Norrington was looking more and more miserable without her brightening up his day. Gillette claimed that James was driving them insane with his worrying. When James would return they would stay for a little while longer, attempting to make him laugh with their jokes, or at least crack a smile, but his face remained impassive to everything. Even Synnove, from her place behind James managed to laugh at some of the things they said, but it was like something inside of James had been frozen over. They would leave after a good twenty minutes of trying to engage their former commander and return to their duties above deck, knowing that they would return in a while to force James to eat something before they went to bed.

Each night when James finally allowed himself to fall asleep, slumped in the hard wooden chair he had been sitting in almost all day long, Synnove would sit on the floor by his side and watch him. The light of the moon would stream through the thin curtains covering the windows and would illuminate James' face much better than any candle could. Synnove sat still for hours, just watching as his sleeping chest rose and fell.

The form she was currently stuck in did not allow her to sleep, she could close her eyes, but she could not silence her own thoughts. As she watched James enjoy the sleep and silence she craved, her mind raced endlessly. The longer she sat there, watching James the more her thoughts drifted towards the people that she missed. The more she thought about her family the sadder she became, the sadder she became, the more she thought about leaving Malvina behind and how she would soon be leaving James behind. Unless something happened they would part ways and go on about their lives as if they had never known one another. But for that to even become a possibility again she would have to find a way back into her body, something which was looking less likely as the days went by. Synnove was trapped, alone with no company other than her thoughts which insisted on running through depressing cycles in the dark. Synnove wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around arms around James and feel something again, anything. She may have only been trapped outside of her body for a few days, but she was desperate to feel something and to have someone other than Keys notice her presence. Synnove had never felt this lonely before, not even when she was alone in the Locker before she came across James. Synnove desperately wanted to feel it when James held her hand or kissed her forehead, she wanted to touch him back, to let him know that she was there, but she did not dare to touch him in case he reacted the same way he had before and she scared him away. The last thing she wanted was the scare James away, she wanted him there, and she needed him there. Synnove hated when the night fell and she hated the silence that it brought. But she loved the morning, when James would sit up straight in his chair and resume his earlier position. Even though he could not see or hear her, Synnove always felt better during the day, just knowing that James was awake and would not disappear before her eyes.

Six long days into his bedside vigil James was called on deck by the Captain and he had no choice but to follow the orders of the Captain. No matter how much he protested that he needed to stay by her side in case she woke up, the Captain would hear no more of the matter and told James that if he was not on deck within ten minutes he would personally see to it that James was dumped off the ship at the next port. A Captain could not have his subordinates lazing about and not following orders after all he had told James.

Once James had left, this time with Keys trailing behind no one else came to sit with Synnove. It was the first time that she had been alone with her solid body and her transparent body since she had woken up like that. Synnove ran at her lifeless body, kicking and screaming and trying to break whatever it was that was holding her back. Each time she was thrown away, down to the floor, but each time she got back up and tried again. She was growing more tired with each attempt and transparent tears flowed down her transparent face. She dropped to the floor in pure despair, pulling at her hair, trying to think of a way to return herself. Synnove could not bear to spend another night watching James fall asleep holding her hand. She wanted to be awake so that she could feel the heat of his hand in her own; she wanted to feel his lips as he pressed them against her forehead. Synnove just wanted to feel again.

She heard the clomping of boots against the floor and assumed it was James returning from whatever duty the Captain had set him. She remained crumpled on the floor and was amazed to see that Stefan entered the room instead of her James. Instead of looking at Synnove's body laying on the bed his eyes immediately met with hers as she sat on the floor. There was no mistaking what he was looking at, Stefan could see what no one else could see, he could see Synnove's transparent body. She slowly stood up, just to make sure that what she saw was real and it was confirmed as Stefan's eyes stayed locked with Synnove's as she moved about.

"You can see me can't you?" she asked.

"Yes, now if you will please remain silent while I try to concentrate I would appreciate it," Stefan replied, no hint of his thick German accent making its usual appearance.

Synnove's eyes widened, "what are you doing?" she asked, terrified of what Stefan could do to her while she was in such a vulnerable state, "and where did your accent go?"

"I am helping, that is all you need to know," Stefan said, "now please be silent so that I can do what needs to be done."

"You aren't going to hurt me Stefan?"

"No," he replied, not removing his eyes from hers. He muttered something else under his breath which Synnove could not quite catch before proceeding. He began whispering words that Synnove could not understand and moving his hands in strange fluid motions. He stopped abruptly and brought his hands up to his chest with his palms facing towards Synnove's ghostlike form. He commenced his whispering and pushed his palms forwards. His eyes remained trained on hers the entire time as he continued to make pushing motions and his face was contorted into a look of deep concentration and stress.

Synnove felt the same wrenching feeling as before radiating from her chest to her limbs as some invisible force threw her backwards. Her transparent body collided with her solid body, meeting no resistance like before. She gasped at the odd sensation of being reunited and then the world went black around her. When Stefan was sure he was finished he swiftly exited the room and ran back on deck to take his place beside the Captain.

Synnove bolted upright out of her bed gasping for air. Her limbs were achingly sore and her head spun as she tried to collect her thoughts. She could not remember anything except for the coldness of the water and the feeling of James' body pressed against her own. Synnove cradled her aching head in her hands as more flashes of memories raced through her mind. She remembered being caught in netting of some sort and drowning, and then she remembered James jumping in after her. But apart from that Synnove did not remember a thing. For some reason a heavy feeling of sadness had a tight grip on her chest and all she knew for certain was that James was nowhere to be found and that fact terrified her.

* * *

My goodness, 30 chapters already, I never thought I would make it this far!  
Don't' worry my dear readers – I could not kill Synnove off … yet … [insert stereotypical evil laughter here]  
Norrieo – I've never seen LoTR, I kept meaning to, but I just did not get around to it. Which is terrible especially since it was made in my country. YES YES, post the link!


	31. Stay Here Forever And Always

James stood against the newly repaired railing, scowling out at the vast ocean before him. The sky above was darkening along with his mood and he was sure that it would rain soon, but that did not matter to him at the moment, nothing much mattered really. It had been almost a week now since Synnove had fallen overboard and still she had not stirred. He would be right by her bedside now if the Captain had not insisted he come up on deck and attend to some pressing matters. Matter which the Captain had not even mentioned yet and James had been on deck for a good twenty minutes now, ignored and getting angrier by each passing moment he was away from her bedside.

He felt something small and warm collide with his back and felt arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind. Small sobbing noises came from the body as its fingers clawed at the front of his shirt. From what he could tell the body which had collided with him was female as he could feel the curves of her body pressing against him. The female was too tall to be Antanasia and too small to be Yulia, there were plenty of other young females on board, but none of them would have come running to him in such a manner. Not that Antanasia or Yulia would have done so either, but he was able to rule them out first. His eyes widened as he finally realised the small hands clawing at him must belong to Synnove, she was the only one who would hold on to him this tightly. He turned around with her arms still secured around him and looked down at her, instantly confirming his suspicions. Her small body was wrapped up in his now tattered Admirals coat and he felt a surge of pride knowing that she was wrapped in his clothing. The scowl which had clouded his face earlier was replaced with a genuine smile of happiness as his green eyes met her watery blue ones.

"Glad to see you are finally awake Miss Synnove," he said, letting his arms encircle her and pull her closer.

"Oh James I am so glad that you are alright!" Synnove said pressing her face into his chest.

"Of course I am alright Miss Synnove, it is you who was not alright for a while there," he replied.

"The last thing that I remember was you holding onto me in the water and then I woke up in my room and there was no one around so I panicked. I thought something terrible must have happened to you!" she exclaimed, pulling James closer to her. Her breathing was rather erratic, but he supposed that was because she had obviously darted from her bed and up the flights of stairs to find him.

James rubbed his arm up and down her back trying to calm her down and he rested his other hand on the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair. "I am truly fine Miss Synnove; there is no need for you to worry about me."

"I should have known that you would have been fine," she said smiling up at him.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"I am still a little tired, but I am much better now that I know you are alright James," Synnove said with a light blush.

"As am I Miss Synnove," James said. Everything is much better now that you are smiling at me again, but for how long, he thought to himself. "Will you please forgive me Miss Synnove?"

"Forgive you for what James?" she replied tilting her head to one side in her usual confused manner.

"For not protecting you adequately like I promised to do. I failed in my duty and because of that you nearly lost your life," he said quietly, ashamed of himself. James turned his head away from her to avoid looking into her eyes and seeing his shame reflected back at him from their depths.

Synnove trailed one of her hands up his chest and to his face. Her hand rested on his cheek, turning his face to hers gently, "There is nothing to forgive James."

"But I –" James was cut off by Synnove's fingers on his lips, effectively silencing his protests in much the same way he had done to her.

"Without you I would not have made it out of the Locker, without you I would not have survived my first night on Tortuga or even the row there, without you I would not made it this close to home. You jumped into the ocean to save me James, without you I would have been lost. You need to be kinder to yourself James; you have done so much for me already. It is I who should be asking forgiveness for being such a burden upon you," she said before removing her finger from his lips.

"You are no burden Miss Synnove, I have never thought of you in such a way and I never will."

Synnove smiled up at James, "And there is no reason for me to forgive you, because you did nothing wrong. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Miss Synnove, I understand."

"Say it."

"I did nothing wrong," James said as a smile crept upon his face.

Synnove let out a small laugh, "I am glad you see things my way."

"I seem to be doing a lot of that lately."

Something nudged into Synnove's legs from behind and caused them to buckle slightly. She needn't fear falling though as James had a tight grip upon her. Accompanying the nudging a jingling sound could be heard. James mumbled something resembling 'infernal beast' as Synnove let go of James and knelt down to greet Keys. She ruffled his fur and stroked his head with a happy smile plastered to her face; Keys appeared to be smiling as well with his wagging tail and the way he was jumping about around Synnove.

"He missed you terribly Miss Synnove, it seems no one else shares quite as much of their food with him as you do," James said smirking.

"You mean you didn't feed him?" Synnove said, a look of mock horror crossing her face.

"Of course I fed him, however he did not seem to enjoy my choice of dinner. Who would have thought a beast could be so picky about their food," James said shaking his head in remembrance of just how difficult the dog was to please. He would have ignored Keys altogether if he hadn't known Synnove would have been upset if no one had looked after him whilst she was unconscious.

Synnove stood upright once again, but was once again knocked about by Keys' happy antics. She would have taken a less than graceful fall if not for James' arm wrapping itself quickly around her waist. Her hand grasped tightly into the material of his shirt she blushed and thanked him for catching her again. This time James did not promise to always be there to catch her as he could no longer trust himself to be capable of following through on said promise. Even if Synnove in all her mercy had forgiven him and he had told her he understood, James could not make a promise he was not certain he could keep.

Synnove bit her bottom lip and looked over the railing behind James, it had been fixed since the fall, but it would take her a very long time before she would feel comfortable going anywhere near the edge.

"I oversaw the repairing of the railing myself, it will not break again anytime soon," James said in an attempt to comfort the worried young woman, "it would be fine for you to lean upon it now."

"All the same I think it is better if I stayed over here," she said gently tightening her grip on James' shirt. She looked up at James and caught the unmistakable look of sadness flicker across his green eyes before he broke eye contact and gazed out over the ocean. Instantly she knew that her words had hurt him and she wished she could take them back. "It is not that I do not trust you James, please do not think that!" she pleaded, a cough accompanying her words.

James merely grunted in response and continued to look out over the ocean and the darkening sky. Small pale hands placed themselves on either side of his face and gently turned him back to gazing at Synnove. "Please James, I did not mean to upset you!"

"I am not upset Miss Synnove. I should have realised that it will take you a while to be reacquainted with the idea of being anywhere near to railing so soon afterwards."

"It may take some time, but I promise before this journey ends that I will lean over the railing. Of course only if you promise to stand behind me though!"

"You trust me not to let you fall?" James said, still not completely grasping the fact that Synnove could be so forgiving and so trusting so easily. The first woman he had not been able to catch had never wanted to be around him again, of course he knew there was more to the situation than that, but he would always see Elizabeth falling over the edge as the beginning of the end for him. He could not bear to think that Synnove falling over the edge would come to signify the end of his second beginning.

Synnove watched as his eyes glazed over for a moment and she tilted her head at him in confusion, he had never been so far away in his mind before and Synnove was slightly worried about him. However, she knew it would do her no good to ask what he was thinking about, James would merely dismiss her concern for his wellbeing and replace it with his own concern for her. "Of course I trust you James. I told you that before, nothing could change my opinion of you."

James smiled down at her and said, "Thank you Miss Synnove."

Before they could continue their conversation they were interrupted by a shout coming from the opposite side of the ship.

"Miss Synnove! You are finally awake I see!" Gillette shouted, nudging Groves and pointing to the small black haired woman that James had his arm around the waist of.

Synnove's hands darted away from their place on James' face with the speed of a guilty woman. One rested on his chest, near his heart while the other was around his waist. It was the kind of embrace that would never be appropriate for two unwed people to share, especially out in the open in such a manner. Not that Groves or Gillette cared for that matter; in fact, Gillette was pleased to see his former commander showing a more caring side towards the little woman he had sworn himself to protect. Gillette had after all promised his Mother that he would 'help' James see just how magnificent a catch Synnove was and just how wonderful she would be as a wife. Gillette did not particularly enjoy playing the role of matchmaker in his Mother's absence, but he had managed to talk Groves in to helping him out so the task should not be as difficult as he originally thought.

"They are awfully comfortable looking don't you think Groves?" Gillette whispered as they made their way over to the pair.

"I don't think I ever saw him that close to the former Miss Swann."

"This is a good sign. I daresay Synnove falling overboard gave Norrington a good kick in the backside, especially with the eyes that Stefan fellow was making at her when she was unconscious."

"Yes, we are still going to have to keep an eye on him all the while convincing Norrington of what would be plain to any other person. Your Mother certainly knows how to delegate duties in her absence!"

"She relishes in never making things easy," Gillette whispered rolling his eyes at the memory of many of the things his Mother had made him do during his younger days.

There they stopped their conversation as they were within hearing range of the couple in question and did not want to have to answer awkward queries as to what they had been discussing.

"I see our sleeping beauty has finally awoken!" Gillette exclaimed with a smile widely plastered across his face.

Synnove blushed at being called a beauty and James grunted, clearly not liking Gillette calling Synnove something he had not had the courage to tell her that she was.

"It is good to have you back with us Miss Synnove," Groves said, sharing the same wide smile as Gillette.

"It is good to be back! I would say that I missed you, but I was asleep the entire time so I am none the wiser as to how much time has passed."

"It has only been about a week since your little swimming trip," Gillette informed her.

"I slept for an entire week?" Synnove asked in disbelief, for her it seemed like only hours had passed. No wonder James was so upset with himself.

"It would appear so Miss Synnove," Groves added, "you had us all terribly worried, but I am sure Norrington informed you just how worried we all were."

"Oh yes, he certainly made it clear how much I was missed," she said smiling, not realising the double meaning that could be found in her words. Her words were laced with coughing which drew more concerned looks from James. She was sure his raised eyebrow would rise so far that it would soon disappear and she had to stifle her laughter at such a thought.

"That cough does not sound good Miss Synnove," Gillette commented.

"Oh I am alright Gillette, do not worry."

"With those clouds getting darker I think perhaps you should think of returning below deck Miss Synnove, it will start raining soon and catching a cold is the last thing you would want," Groves said glancing up at the rapidly darkening sky above with a wary eye.

"I think he is right Miss Synnove," Gillette agreed.

"How can you tell so easily that it is going to rain?" Synnove asked.

"With so many months of our lives spent at sea, one becomes acquainted with subtle shifts in the weather," James said.

"Oh! James do not forget you promised to teach me about the stars during our journey," Synnove gasped.

"The stars Miss Synnove?" Groves questioned, "I would not have pictured you to have an interest in navigation."

"The stars are different here than what I have seen at home."

"I suppose that would be so," Gillette said smiling at Synnove.

"I did not forget Miss Synnove, but perhaps tonight would not be the best time," James said as a cough slipped from her lips and she bent slightly, holding back more coughing.

"Alright James, but do not forget you promised!" she said cheerily in an attempt to dismiss the growing frequency of her coughing.

Her three male companions looked at her with concerned eyes, "perhaps it would be best for you to retire back to bed Miss Synnove," Groves suggested.

"You have only just woken up from you ordeal, it will take time for you to feel completely better," Gillette said.

"I am no delicate flower I assure you," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"I was not suggesting you are Miss Synnove, but every time you cough Norrington looks like he is about to have a heart attack," Gillette defended.

Synnove looked up at James and saw the concern in his eyes which he tried unsuccessfully to hide from her. "I am alright, please do not worry!"

"All the same Miss Synnove, I think it would be best for you to retire below deck before the rain comes in, that cough will only gets worse if you are not properly rested," James said.

"I honestly do not think I could sleep another wink at the moment, I am wide awake!" Synnove was reluctant to leave James' side so soon after being reunited with him, she wanted to make up for all the time she had missed being around him. Her argument would have been more convincing if she hadn't been leaning heavily against James with her head resting slightly against his chest.

James gave her a stern look suggesting that it would be best if she did what he requested her to do rather than argue further. Synnove let out a complacent sigh and said, "Alright, I will go back to my room as you insist, but only to keep you three happy," she said forcing a smile upon her face. She really would rather stay with James than do anything else, but she would do what he wanted, for now.

The thumping of shoes on the deck came charging up behind Groves and Gillette and as they turned around they were met with the horrified face of Yulia. Her face was red and she was rather flustered in appearance, worry emanating from her large green eyes.

"H-h-have you s-seen Nove?" Yulia stuttered, her fear of Groves and Gillette evident in her voice.

Groves nodded and stepped aside allowing Yulia a glimpse of Synnove resting against James with his arm casually placed around her waist. As Yulia's eyes roamed the couple before her her eyes narrowed slightly at the coat Synnove was wearing. Yulia would certainly be asking her about the meaning of the coat later, if it was what she thought it was then she would have to be more careful around Synnove and her travelling companions.

"Nove! I h-have been looking e-e-everywhere for you!" she exclaimed.

"I am sorry Yulia, when I woke up no one was around so I went looking for James," Synnove said in between coughs.

"It is alright, it's m-my fault actually," she claimed her stutter slowly going away. "I-I was supposed to be watching y-you, but Mother n-n-needed my h-help with Antanasia."

Synnove let out a small gasp, "is your sister alright?" she asked, feeling terrible that she had forgotten all about the young girl in her quest to find James.

"The c-cold water m-made her s-s-sick, b-but she is feeling much better now than she was before. M-Mother had been keeping her away from you in c-case she made y-you worse, b-but she asks about you all the time."

"How are you feeling Yulia? I should have asked earlier," Synnove coughed again raising another concerned look from James.

"I am fine. M-Mr. Groves here pulled me o-out of the water r-r-really quickly," she said smiling sheepishly in Groves' direction.

"It was my pleasure Miss Osmosechu," Groves said returning her smile.

Rain began to gently patter down onto the deck from the darkened sky above. It was a light rain for now, but it was a freezing cold rain that caused Synnove to shiver slightly in James' embrace.  
"I think it would be best if you went below deck now Miss Synnove, Miss Osmosechu," he said, using his authoritative voice.

Yulia simply nodded at his words, but would not leave unless Synnove accompanied her.

"Do you want your coat back James?" she asked while her fingers absentmindedly played with the once golden buttons of his tattered Admiral's coat.

"No Miss Synnove, you may keep it. It suits you in some strange way."

Synnove giggled slightly a twirled about, "I must agree with you there James. But will you not get cold?"

"James is a man! Men do not get cold!" Gillette said proudly.

"Funny, that is not what you were saying last night if I recall properly Gillette," James said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I seem to recall him spending most of the night complaining about the cold in a most unmanly manner," Groves snickered at his friend.

Gillette cleared his throat, "yes, well, last night was rather chilly," he said looking away from the accusing looks his fellow former officers were giving him.

Yulia looked back and forth between the arguing men smiling slightly at their antics, but she was still apprehensive of what the gold and navy coloured coat signified. Until she knew for certain, she would distance herself from these seemingly nice people, especially Mr. Groves, for as charming as he was she could not trust him, or his companions until she was certain.

Synnove's words interrupted her thoughts, "so you will be cold, but you refuse to take your coat back out of gentlemanly propriety?" she asked.

"Yes," James said simply.

"Propriety may be the death of you James," Synnove said.

"A little rain will not harm me Miss Synnove."

She shook her head at him with a smile on her face, "I should hope not. Will I see you all at dinner later then?" she questioned.

"Unless the Captain decides otherwise then yes," Groves said.

"Excellent, then goodbye until later Groves, Gillette, James," Synnove said. She slipped her hand slowly down James chest and out of his grasp around her waist. She instantly felt coldness where James had once been and she shivered, pulling his coat closely around her to combat the unpleasant feeling of loss.

Yulia stepped away from the group and linked her arm with Synnove's before subtly guiding her back down the stairs to the warmth of their shared cabin.

Two figures stood at the helm of the_ Engel Lied_ as night fell around the ship. The figures were standing close together, but it was too dark to make out exactly who the two figures were.

"The girl is awake now," one spoke quietly

"Excellent," the other figure replied.

"Shall we proceed as intended?"

"Perhaps it would be prudent to give her a few days to gather her strength, and then we shall proceed."

"I agree, it would do us no good to come this far and lose her because of our impatience. What of her companions?"

"Gillette and Groves will be of little consequence to out endeavours. The Osmosechu girls along with their Mother will have to be taken care of as well. Norrington is the only one we need to worry about."

"Leave him to me."

"As you wish my friend."

* * *

Norrieo: Keys could see Synnove because dogs (as well as cats) are known to be sensitive to supernatural phenomena (such as ghosts). Stefan on the other hand is an entirely different story…  
As far as not being able to review certain stories goes, I haven't heard about anything, but authors can select whether or not they want unregistered readers to be able to comment on their stories so that may be your problem.


	32. Revolve Around Me

Antanasia lay curled in a ball on her Mother's bed, staring at the ceiling and groaning. She kept rolling around, trying to find a comfortable position to stay in, causing the fabric beneath her to rustle loudly beneath her. Try as she might, she could not find a suitable way to lie. She voiced her frustration with a loud sigh, knowing that her discomfort was only going to get worse as time progressed. Doctor Watkins had made that much clear at least, though he could provide the Osmosechu women with no other form of reassurance. Antanasia let out another frustrated sigh at how things were turning out for her. Today her usually happy demeanour was taking a backseat to her less frequently seen grumpy and generally foul mood. Today was just one of those days where nothing was going her way, and according to her Mother, she had better get used to it. For soon she would have another large 'problem' to deal with, though Antanasia did not like to call it a 'problem', she preferred to refer to it as an 'issue' for now. But no matter what she or anyone else called it, with each setting of the sun, it became more real and less easy to simply ignore as she had been doing for the past month. More frustrated sighs and other noises escaped her lips as she shuffled about on the bed some more, trying to get comfortable and now, trying to silence her thoughts on matters which were far off.

Her Mother shot her an annoyed look from her position sitting in the chair quietly humming and sewing intricate patterns into the piece of cloth lying in her lap. It was difficult enough to focus her old eyes in the candlelight without her youngest child making so much noise and ruining her concentration. As Antanasia's complaining noises got louder so did her Mother's humming, in an attempt to drown her obscenely loud child out. She may have been able to reduce the annoyance Antanasia's mouth was making, but she could not block out the sound of the heavy rain which was pouring down upon the ship, nor could she block out the impending thunder storm which was sure to accompany the rain.

The rain caused the ship to rock and roll about more forcefully than either Synnove or Yulia had become accustomed to during the journey; although Synnove had only been awake for half of it so far.

Synnove had taken a quick bath and changed from dress she had been wearing whilst she was asleep and now she was feeling much better. She left James' coat sitting cross-legged on the bed as she attempted to wrench the knots from the back of her hair. Yulia sat in another chair reading and occasionally watching as Synnove let out strings of words in her native language that were most definitely not polite. Yulia rose from her position on the bed and moved to stand behind Synnove, "would you like me to help you?" she asked, her nervous stutter now completely gone, due to the lack of male presence currently in the room.

"Yes please!" Synnove exclaimed, "if it would not be too much trouble," she quickly added, taking the hair brush from Synnove and gently working her way through the terrible knotted mess at the back of her head.

"If it were to be a trouble, then I would not have offered to help Nove. I am so glad you are back amongst the living again."

"I am glad to be back as well, hopefully the rest of the journey will pass without further incident," she said with a smile, she most certainly did not want to cause James, Groves and Gillette further distress than she already had.

They sat together in a comfortable silence for a while as the shipped rocked beneath them. In next to no time Yulia had managed to negotiate her way through the knots in Synnove's long hair, she marvelled at how easy it was to brush someone's hair when they were not constantly wriggling around like Antanasia always seemed to be doing. She loved her little sister, really she did, but sometimes she really did not enjoy her antics. Yulia scolded herself inwardly for thinking about her sister in such a way, especially now. As Yulia scolded herself she watched as Synnove's head kept falling forward as if she was struggling to stay awake.

"You should try and get some more sleep Nove, I promise I will wake you up when it is time for dinner," Yulia suggested.

"Oh but I have been sleeping for so long now, I already feel like such a layabout!"

"No one is blaming you," Yulia said smiling at Synnove in a sisterly manner, "and I promise to wake you before anyone is any the wiser, so feel free to sleep as much as you feel like."

"What terrible company I have proven to be already on this journey," Synnove said shaking her head at her own actions.

"I do not mind in the least, I am sure Antanasia told you all about how exciting she thinks I am," Yulia said with a snort.

"Well, she did say that you were shy, but I do not see anything wrong with that."

"Mother says I should have grown out of my shyness by now, she thinks I am just being ridiculous. She says no man will ever want to marry someone who is afraid of their own shadow, I am terrified she is right, but I just cannot bring myself out of my shell," Yulia said, her eyes slowly travelling out the small window watching the waves toss and turn.

"I am sure she is wrong Yulia! Why if I were a man I would marry you right away!" Synnove exclaimed, "you are beautiful and intelligent, any man would be lucky to have the privilege of holding your hand!"

"Thank you for your sympathy Nove, but really I have come to terms with the idea of the spinster lifestyle. As long as I have my books I will be fine."

Synnove turned to stare at Yulia with a raised eyebrow, "but having someone to read those books with you would be fun would it not?"

"I suppose you are right, but he would –" Yulia cut herself off clamping her hands over her mouth.

"Yulia!" Synnove exclaimed, "you already have your eyes on someone?"

Yulia's eyes widened in terror, not even her nosy little sister had picked up her wandering eyes, but then again, Antanasia had her own issues to deal with at the moment, "N-not in t-those words exactly, b-but s-s-someone has s-sparked my curiosity," Yulia squeaked out in reply.

"Sparked your curiosity you say? Do I know him?" Synnove asked with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yes," Yulia replied quietly.

"Out with it then! The suspense is killing me!" Synnove said, never having been much of a fan of patience.

"Y-you will l-l-laugh at me. I-it is s-s-such a r-ridiculous p-pairing."

"I promise I will not laugh, nor will I tell a soul," Synnove said placing her hand over her heart in a solemn gesture.

"After I tell you his name, you have to get some rest and promise not to say another w-word okay?"  
"Alright," Synnove said nodding in agreement as she shifted around on the bed, getting in the best possible position to hear what Yulia had to say. She grabbed her pillow and pulled it close to her chest to show Yulia that she was ready to be let in on the secret.

"W-w-well you r-remember I t-told you that Mr. Groves s-saved me f-from drowning?"

Synnove's eyes widened as she nodded at Yulia enthusiastically. However she did not say a word in case she scared Yulia off from elaborating further.

"W-well I d-do think that he is r-rather h-h-hands-some, a-and kind, very k-kind," she stuttered out quietly.

"Oh yes, Groves is very kind," Synnove said nodding her head at Yulia, "and he is always the perfect gentleman. I do not see why you would think it is ridiculous!"

Yulia dropped her head, "you know what I am l-like. He w-would g-get bored listening t-to me trying to t-t-talk, I do n-not want to be a b-b-bore."

"You know you used to be much worse at speaking around me, but now you are used to me and you stutter less, we just have to get you used to being around Groves and then your stutter will disappear!"

"D-do you really think so?" Yulia asked her green eyes filling with hope.

"Of course I do! In fact, you and your family should share our table tonight at dinner so you can slowly start making progress," Synnove suggested smiling at the look of happiness dancing across Yulia's face.

Yulia continued to smile until the thought of her sister newly developed fear of Norrington reared its head and destroyed the smile, "I-I do not think t-that would be such a g-g-good idea Nove."

"I know you are a little nervous Yulia, but I promise Groves will not bite!"

"I-it is n-not Groves I-I am worried a-about at the m-moment."

"Then what is wrong?"

"N-nothing," Yulia said quickly, not wanting to put a strain on her new friendship by making a comment about Norrington's temper, especially when it was so obvious that Synnove was enamoured by the older man, although she was not sure if they were a couple or not and could not bring herself to ask such a potentially awkward question.

Synnove raised an eyebrow at Yulia, but said nothing else about the matter, at this stage she was struggling to keep awake for much longer, but she did not want to just fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. She raised her hand to her mouth to hide the large yawn that was escaping.

"Y-you should g-get some sleep now be-before dinner Nove. I-if your yawn g-gets a-any bigger you m-may just swallow me whole!" Yulia said with a giggle, trying to bring back the happier mood from earlier.

"I think you may be right Yulia," Synnove said in between yawns. She pulled back the covers of her bed and slipped between the sheets, dismissing Yulia's sudden odd behaviour and wondering how to go about properly introducing Groves to Yulia. She knew Groves was a kind man, but she knew he, like James, was still sore over a woman who had broken his heart. She let her thoughts die out into silence as she slipped into a voluntary sleep.

Hours later, before dinner was to be served, Yulia sat in the same chair as before and was rather predictably reading another book. Synnove had been tossing and turning about in bed for the past hour or so that she had been asleep. A couple of times Yulia had to shake her and roll her over, just to try and calm her dreaming down, and it would work, but only for a few short minutes before Synnove was thrashing about again. In the end Yulia had given up trying to soothe Synnove and had returned to reading more chapters in her large book when a loud knock announced the presence of someone else in the hallway. It was close to dinner time, so she assumed it would be her sister or her Mother coming to get her before they left for their own table so without a second thought she threw back the door and ran headfirst into Norrington.

"O-oh Mr. N-N-Norrington, I-I thought y-you were s-someone else," she stuttered, eyes wide with fear.

"That is quite alright Miss Osmosechu," James said taking a step back and bowing respectfully to the flustered young woman.

Not too far behind James stood Groves and Gillette, the later of the two leaning against the wall in a nonchalant manner as his eyes scanned around the long hallway. On the night of the banquet there had been many young women on the ship dancing with partners or sticking close to their family members like the Osmosechu sisters and yet as the weeks on board the ship passed he had yet to reacquaint himself with any of the young ladies. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became that something was strange about that fact. He frowned as he thought of the various beautiful women who had been around the first night, but did not show up for any meals, nor did they ever venture above deck on occasion to get some fresh air. He could understand one or two ladies of a more delicate constitution would not want to venture around the ship in such a manner, but he felt surely he should have seen more women than just the Osmosechu women and Synnove. Perhaps he would mention this fact to Norrington and Groves later, for now it was time for dinner and his stomach was beginning to make the most unseemly noises imaginable.

Whilst Gillette was contemplating the apparent lack of females on board he failed to notice that Norrington had stepped into the room where Synnove was sleeping peacefully and that Yulia and Groves were talking together. Although it was apparent that Groves was doing most of the talking and the Osmosechu girl was stuttering her way through her words like she usually did. Gillette smiled as he watched Groves talking with the young woman who was almost the same height as he was.

James stepped up to the side of Synnove's bed and watched as her small body wriggled around under the sheets. He could not help but smile as he looked down at her, he reached his fingertips to brush against her forehead and instantly she stopped moving about. Almost silent whispers of foreign words came from her partially open lips, but as soon as James moved closer to attempt to hear what she was saying, he stopped talking in her sleep. James stood for a few moments, contemplating how best to wake Miss Synnove up without startling her too much, should he gently shake her awake or try a less conventional method and run his fingers down the side of her face hoping to wake her up. In the end James did not have to think on the matter for too long.

Out of nowhere Keyes came running down the stairs, across the hall, passed James and jumped onto the bed, landing a heavy paw right in Synnove's stomach. James stared wide eyed as Synnove shot straight upwards in bed letting out a gasp of air.

"What on earth was that," she exclaimed, rubbing the sleep from the corners of her eyes and trying to look around the room at the same time.

"I am sorry Miss Synnove, it appears Keys did not wish to wait any longer for his share of your dinner," James said.

Synnove's eyes snapped straight to James who was hovering over her with an amused look on his face.

"Are you laughing at my pain Mr. Norrington?" she asked in a mockingly serious voice.

James raised an eyebrow back at her, "I assure you Miss Synnove that I would never act in such an ungentlemanly manner towards a lady such as you," James said, there was humour in his voice, but it was obvious that there was only truth in his words.

Synnove let out a small giggle at the serious look on his face. She rubbed her sore stomach where Keys paw had unfortunately landed. The dog simply butted at her hand with his head and wagged his tail, none the wiser to the slight discomfort which he had caused.

"Are you alright Miss Synnove?" James asked.

"You seem to ask me that question a lot James," Synnove said smiling at his worried face, "thank you for your concern James, but I am fine!"

He shook his head at Miss Synnove and the beast, "well then, if everything is alright then it is time for you to join us all for dinner."

"Oh my goodness! Am I late? Oh no, I am terribly sorry for being such an inconvenience James, p-"

James placed a lone finger over Synnove's mouth to silence her rambling apologies, "you are not late Miss Synnove, and please do not call yourself an inconvenience. Now tell me, are you feeling any better than before?"

"Oh yes I am, that extra bit of sleep did wonders, though I do not know how I will sleep later on tonight."  
"You know I will be on deck later tonight, you are more than welcome to stay above deck with me for as long as it takes you to fall asleep," James offered.

"I could not fall asleep in your company James," Synnove said smiling at James. The couple were extremely close to one another, so close in fact that Synnove could feel James' breath on her lips. She desperately wanted him to move closer, to place his lips against hers and make the world dissolve around them.

"That is great and everything, but if one of you two does not move soon then we really will be late for dinner and I do not think that my stomach can handle such heartbreak," Gillette said from his new position leaning against the doorframe. He watched as the pair flew apart, James standing rigidly in position at the side of the bed and Synnove, sitting bolt upright with her eyes solely focused on Keys as if she was fascinated by what the dog was doing. Gillette held his laughter for as long as he could before he had to forcibly remove himself from the doorframe and make his way back to the hall where Groves was now standing alone. Groves caught the look on his friend's face and gave him a questioning look; Gillette smirked back and gave him a look that signified that he would reveal everything later.

James stood completely still, shocked at what had almost happen, and more than mortified that Gillette of all people had sauntered on in it. James did not know whether to thank the man for intruding on what could have been a disaster, or to strangle him for intruding on what could have been a miracle. Either way James had no clue what to do with himself and suddenly he understood why he saw so many young sailors fidgeting, James was truly nervous for the first time since he could remember.

Synnove's stomach decided upon that very moment to let out an amazingly loud grumble, affectively destroying the tension in the air as Keys barked quietly at the strange noise. Synnove shuffled forwards and swung her legs off the side of the bed, she reached her hands up to James who quickly took them in his own and helped her up.

"I am glad that it is time for dinner, I suspect I will eat enough to put even Gillette to shame tonight," Synnove declared.

"I think you will find that is a harder task than you expect Miss Synnove, you have only seen him eat when it is time for dinner, not when he is actually hungry," James replied, glad that Synnove had so easily put whatever had almost happened behind her so quickly.

"You mean he can fit more food in his body than he has before?" Synnove questioned genuinely surprised that such a normal sized man could eat so much food without resembling a beached whale of some sort.

Synnove smiled up at James' now soften face as he guided her out of the room and up the stairs to the dining hall laughing and joking at Gillette's apparent expense, not that it bothered him in the least as long as someone let him eat before his stomach begins eating itself.

Yulia sat at a table in the far corner with her miserably unhappy looking younger sister and her Mother casting disapproving glances left right and centre. Yulia let a small sigh escape her lips; if only things were a little different she could be sitting at the same table with Synnove and her friends, smiling and sharing in whatever joke currently had the group laughing. Yulia found that throughout the meal her eyes kept drifting back over to Mr. Groves, she was so fascinated by him and yet, she did not even know his given name. She forced herself to look away and focus on her meal, she had other things to worry about rather than how handsome a certain person was, even if that same person was so charming and kind. She had to ask Synnove her burning question right away, better to dash her hopes now than let herself be further enamoured by Mr. Groves.

Much later that night, after dinner had come and gone Yulia and Synnove were back in their rooms once again. Antanasia had decided that she would stay with their Mother for the remainder of the journey, partially because she was afraid of running into Norrington and partially because she did not feel like facing the questions she knew would soon make themselves heard.

"Nove?" Yulia called to Synnove from her comfortable position reading another book in bed under the light from the candle sitting on the table next to her.

"Yes Yulia?" Synnove replied from her own bed, though she was not reading but simply daydreaming.

"I have a question and I am not entirely sure how to ask it," Yulia said nervously, "I am unsure of how you will react."

"You should just ask Yulia, nothing you can ask could be that bad."

"The coat that Mr. Norrington gave you to wear," Yulia said pausing for only a moment before continuing, "Where did he get it from?"

"Do you mean this one?" Synnove said running her fingers over the soft material of James' Admirals coat.

"Yes"

"I believe he was given it when he became an Admiral in the British Navy" she said.

Yulia's eye widened in what could only be interpreted as fear; she stuttered as she asked her next question, "W-w-where was h-he s-s-stationed?"

"Port Royal, are you familiar with that settlement?"

Yulia had visibly paled by now, "oh yes, I am f-familiar with that place."

Yulia was struck by the thought that if Mr. Norrington was a former naval officer then Mr. Gillette and Mr. Groves would have come from the same place. Yulia's eyes widened further as the implications of this new information made themselves known. Mr. Groves had been so kind to her, and Mr. Norrington and Mr. Gillette were always so polite and gentlemanly, surely Synnove had to be mistaken, she had to ask, "what about Mr. Gillette and Mr. Groves?"

"Groves and Gillette were lieutenants under James' command."

"S-s-so then they too would have been stationed in Port Royal?"

"Yes, though Gillette was not around for as long as Groves was, Gillette became lost at sea during a hurricane.

"I see," Yulia replied quietly, her mind now racing through thoughts about what this discovery meant. She would have to make sure that she stayed away from those men, no matter how nice they seemed, she knew first hand that naval officers were only kind for as long as it suited them. Yulia would also have to ensure that Antanasia stayed far away from the men as well, though with Mr. Norrington's harsh words and Antanasia's sickness claiming a tighter grip on her, that would not be much of a problem.

Before Synnove could ask what was wrong Yulia pulled her blankets up over her head, "well that is all I wanted to know, sorry to cut our conversation short Nove but I am exhausted and wish to go to sleep now. Goodnight!" she said quickly before blowing out the candle next to her bed.

Synnove sat there in the darkness contemplating Yulia's strange behaviour and not finding any immediate explanations she decided it would be best if she turned in for the night as well. She had to sleep in order to get better, James had promised to show her the stars and he would not do so as long as she still had her incessant cough, he had made that much perfectly clear to her. She wished Gillette had not intruded upon them earlier, but in a way she was glad for it, James jumped away from her with such a guilty look on his face that she could not help but feel that if they had shared a kiss James would have done nothing but regret it. Synnove buried her face in her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut for the last time that night and fell asleep once again.

* * *

Hello my darling readers, I am sorry that this chapter is so much later than it should be. I managed to catch a cold which stole my voice (the silence nearly killed me!) and every time I coughed the dog looked at me as if I was going to eat him or something, but now I am back! (Thanks for your concern Norrieo). I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it being so late.

On much happier news - last Sunday I saw snow for the first time! What makes this so amazing is the fact that where I live just does not get snow … ever, so seeing snow falling for the first time was amazing. Apparently it was the first time in 35 years that my city had snow fall.  
Also I am putting in an application for a university exchange to Sweden so please keep your fingers crossed for me!


	33. To A Place Where You Belong

James sighed angrily as he looked out over the ocean from his position in the crow's-nest. This was the sort of job which should be relegated to a younger man, one who could far easier make his way up the ropes and into the little basket all the way at the top. He had struggled to fit in the basket, which was not made for a man of his size, nor did it have enough room for him to stretch out or make himself comfortable. James leant over the edge of the basket, glaring out at the sea fuming in silent anger, his stomach growling as he had been forced to miss dinner because there was no one else to take over his position for even a few minutes. James knew that by the time he would finally be allowed back down, he would not be a fun person to be around.

"Good evening Miss Synnove!" Gillette called to Synnove as he watched her trudge up the stairs onto the deck of the ship. Keys trailed obediently behind her, following so closely that if she stopped abruptly he would surely run into her.

"Hello there Gillette!" she replied waving happily, coming to a stop standing next Gillette.

"What brings you up on deck at this time of night?"

"James promised to teach me about the stars when I got better, so I thought I would snap up the opportunity while it was still present," she said.

"It appears that Norrington has been captured by the Captain again, so you may have to wait for quite a while for him to be free," Gillette pointed to the crow's-nest where James was standing keeping watch, "the Captain sent him up there a while ago and he was not very happy with the decision."

"Poor James, I would have thought that such a job should fall to one of the young boys on board?" she asked.

"I would have thought so as well, but the Captain has made up his mind and it is best not to argue with the man who is in charge, no matter how much Norrington would have no doubt wanted to."

"I see, this journey seems to be forcing James into a lot of positions which are beneath his standing, as well as you and Groves, for that I am sorry," she said, her eyes downcast.

"Believe me Miss Synnove, we have all been in far worse positions when we were just starting out in the British Royal Navy," Gillette said smiling at Synnove and trying to reassure her that she was not the burden she thought she was.

"Is that really so, or are you being polite?"

"When have you ever known me to be overly polite if I did not need to be?"

Synnove giggled, "I suppose you are correct there Gillette, especially with your eating habits."

"You can blame my Mother for that, she should have taught me how to eat properly like a gentleman when I was younger."

"I seem to recall Ma saying that she did attempt to teach you, but that you would have none of it," she said smiling at Gillette with a raised eyebrow.

Gillette coughed, "yes, well, that may be the case, but if anyone else ever asked I would deny it!" he declared.

"You poor Mother, how many things have you blamed her for?"

"A lot of things, but nothing too bad I assure you Miss Synnove. Now tell me, how have you been enjoying your time since you woke up?"

"I am glad to be awake again, it is amazing how time flies when one sleeps for an entire week."  
"And how are things with your two roommates? Yulia is very quiet compared to her younger sister isn't she?"

"Being with Yulia and Antanasia is nice and peaceful. Yulia isn't all that quiet once you get to know her; she is just rather shy around people she does not know all that well," Synnove said, "Antanasia has been a tad under the weather lately so Yulia has been staying in the room with her and her Mother. I will admit, it has been rather boring with no one to sit and talk to, but I imagine standing out on deck all day is hardly any better," Synnove said smiling at Gillette.

"It has its moments of excitement," he replied.

"Oh and what would those moments be?"

"I seem to recall a certain damsel in distress falling overboard as being one such moment of excitement," he said with a smirk.

Synnove raised an eyebrow at Gillette, "somehow I do not think that James would agree with you on that observation."

"Most definitely not Miss Synnove, but he has always seemed to lack the ability to have a good laugh at things afterwards."

"Not that there was anything funny about my little swimming detour," she said raising her eyebrow at Gillette while holding a small laugh back.

"Of course not Miss Synnove!" Gillette said holding back a laugh of his own.

The pair continued laughing and joking for quite some time, Gillette earning some glares from the other men as he neglected his work and continued to keep Synnove company. They were having such a good time that they did not notice that James had finally made his way down from the crow's-nest, albeit in a rather graceless manner, and was now coming up behind them.

James smiled as he watched Synnove laugh at something Gillette said, she was so beautiful when she was smiling and laughing, but he could not help but feel a twinge of sadness and jealousy run through his heart. If he had not been forced up the crow's-nest he would have been the one standing next to Miss Synnove and making her laugh. He knew Gillette had no feelings for Miss Synnove or else he would have made it clear by now that he wanted her to be his. Gillette had never been the type to waste time with the proper procedure when he could be straightforward with his chosen woman and have her smiling and hanging on his every word in a matter of seconds. The only problem was that Gillette got bored very easily, a woman would capture his eye and they would be happy together for a while, but inevitably Gillette would find out the beautiful woman hanging on to him only wanted him for his high ranking naval position and could really care less about who he really was underneath the uniform. Gillette found many women to be shallow creatures with little sense and even less of interest to add to a conversation. It seemed the more beautiful they were, the less they had to offer in other areas, at this stage in life, he had all but given up looking for the perfect woman, and for now he was happy with his decision to remain a bachelor.

James crept slowly up behind Miss Synnove, careful to make as little noise as possible. Gillette's eyes flicked towards James and he was about to greet his friend when James held his finger to his lips, showing Gillette that he wanted him to be quiet. Gillette nodded slightly in agreement, but Synnove missed the gesture and continued talking with Gillette.

James came to a stop directly behind Miss Synnove who had still not noticed how close he was standing to her. He bent down slightly, so that his lips were next to her ear and he whispered, "hello there Miss Synnove."

Synnove let out a surprised shriek and spun around to face James, her blue eyes wide with shock, "James!" she yelled, batting at his shoulder with her hand, "you know how easily I jump."

"I simply could not help myself Miss Synnove, you know Gillette saw me coming I thought he would have mentioned seeing me," James said sincerely, acting as if it was all Gillette's fault.

"Do not blame me Miss Synnove, I was simply following orders from my superior officer," Gillette said glaring at James in a fake display of anger, "I have better things to do than be accused of such deplorable behaviour. Good night to you Miss Synnove," he paused, "Norrington," he added before turning on his heel and walking away.

"I swear you get some kind of evil pleasure out of seeing me scared half to death!" she said dramatically placing a hand over her pounding heart, "I feel faint! Somebody catch me before I fall!" she said between giggles.

James' arms darted straight out to wrap around her waist and pull her closer to his body.

"I was only joking James, I am alright!" she said still giggling.

"I know that Miss Synnove, but better to be safe than sorry, I do not think you would enjoy another unscheduled trip overboard, unless I am mistaken?"

"James Norrington!" she exclaimed, "are you laughing about my tragic accident!"

"I do not know what you are talking about Miss Synnove, you know I am not such a cruel man as that."

She raised an eyebrow at him before resting herself against his chest, "I know you are not such a cruel man James, but I am glad you are smiling when you mention it. You should smile more often."

"if I were to walk about with a smile constantly plastered to my face I would lose all respect from the other sailors. No one fears their superior if their superior is smiling and kind and therefore nothing would get done," he informed Synnove.

"Then just smile more around me, I will appreciate it and I promise to still follow your orders regardless!"

"I do not think I have ever given your orders to begin with."

"Then following them will be even easier than I thought," Synnove said smiling up at James.

"So what bring you up on deck at this time of night Miss Synnove?"

"You said that once I was feeling better that you would show me the stars, and I assure you that I am feeling much better!" she said before turning her face away from James and covering her mouth as she coughed.

"Is that so?" he asked raising a sceptical eyebrow at her.

"I have not coughed at all until that moment, this is utterly unfair!" she said frowning.

"I believe it may have something to do with the change in temperature, it is cold out here. How about we try another night Miss Synnove, I do not want you catching a cold so far out at sea." Synnove pouted in response to James' suggestion. "I know you are upset Miss Synnove, but it would be far worse to risk your health for the sake of a few stars, none of which are going to disappear over the course of the next few nights.

"Alright then," she said as another wave of coughing attacked her body.

The proper thing to do would be for James to simply escort her to her bedroom and leave her be for the rest of the night. It was the thing James would have done if she had been any other young woman coughing and standing next to him, but she was not any other woman and she was not merely standing next to him. He had seemingly lost all sense when he had pulled her to his chest earlier and now he could not pull away from her, even if he had wanted to do so. James rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back as she continued to cough. He was worried about the way that she was coughing, but he knew better than to mention it to the ship's doctor, the useless man that he was. If Synnove's coughing kept up he would have to have a word with the Captain about making port somewhere and finding her a decent doctor who knew what he was doing. It would undoubtedly be a difficult task finding an English speaking doctor so far from England or her colonies, but it would need to be done.

"I think it would be best if you went back to your bedroom and made yourself nice and warm."

She huffed slightly at his suggestion, "alright, but only if you promise to keep me company for a while?"

"If that is what it takes to get you feeling better faster, that is what we will do," James said, threading his arm through hers and guiding her downstairs and back to her empty room. Keys trailed behind the pair, his tail wagging happily.

"Just out of curiosity Miss Synnove, do you speak any other languages other than Swedish and English?" he said as he led her to take a seat on her bed. Keys, being the ever intrusive beast that he was leapt up beside her, placing his head in her lap and nudging at her hand until she relented and stroked his fur.

It seemed her coughing had subsided for the moment and she was able to answer him without doubling over in pain, "My Father is actually from Finland, so I can hold a fluent conversation in Finnish," she said pausing to cough, "I understand Norwegian and Danish well enough to hold a successful conversation, but I am by no means an expert. I can understand a little bit of Dutch when I read it, but only because some of the words are similar. I definitely could not hold a conversation though that is for sure. And of course Yulia is attempting to teach me Romanian, but that is proving to be a difficult task."

"My word Miss Synnove, that is an impressive repertoire that you have achieved for yourself," James said in slight shock. He pulled his chair in closer to the bed where Synnove was sitting.

"No, not really, my Father can speak many more language than I can," she said waving a dismissive hand, "I only learnt the things I have because my Mother insisted that I be given the opportunity to decide whether I wanted to learn to sew or to things which would have usually been reserved for only my brothers to learn. I will forever be thankful for my Mother's hindsight, without it I would not be able to speak with you."

"You Mother is a smart woman Miss Synnove."

"Yes, she was. I do miss her terribly," Synnove said, her eyes beginning to water slightly as she thought of her Mother and her family, "she raised us all so well, I am sure my brothers are doing fine without us for the moment."

James looked at her blue eyes which had turned a pale light blue as her tears began to fill her eyes. "I am sorry James, please excuse my lack of control," her voice said shakily.

"Come here," he said holding his arms out to her. Synnove darted off of the bed and into James' arms. He pulled her down to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. Synnove put her arms around his neck and nuzzled into him, sobbing quietly against his neck.

"I am sorry, so sorry; I keep doing things that just make everything harder for you. Here you are slaving away all day long and not complaining and I burst into tears at the first mention of my Mother. I used to be so much stronger than this," she whimpered, her words barely audible.

"It is alright Miss Synnove," he said rubbing her back, "these things have a habit of catching up with us when we are least prepared."

She nodded in agreement against his neck. James sat in his chair gently rocking Synnove and rubbing her back until she stopped quietly sobbing. A few more minutes of silence passed and James looked down to see that Synnove's eyes were closed and that her breathing had evened out and slowed considerably. He smiled at her, knowing that she had cried herself to sleep in his arms. James had dreamt of Synnove falling asleep in his arms for quite some time now, but he wished she had not been crying so forcefully in order to get where he wanted her to be. James brushed her long black hair away from her face and stole his courage before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. She was so deep into sleep and would not feel a thing, James was sure of that. Although it did not make his action any less improper, he decided that at that particular moment he would follow the idea that 'what she doesn't know will not hurt her.' James sat with Synnove in his arms for longer than he cared to admit, simply sitting there and doing nothing more than watching her sleep. He knew he should hurry up and leave her to get some sleep of his own, but he could not force his legs to move, nor did he particularly want to. Down here the Captain had no idea where he was so he could not order James to fulfil some other mundane task which could be performed by any other member of the crew. For James this was the most peace he had experienced since beginning the journey. Normally at sea he always felt at peace, but being a subordinate to a man who seemingly knew less about being a Captain that James did was not his idea of a peaceful journey.

As James began to feel his own eyes drooping close he came to the conclusion that he really did have to leave before he fell asleep in Miss Synnove's room. He may have done so before when they were in Tortuga, but there had been no one there to judge them, here it felt like everyone was watching his actions around the young unwed woman and he would not jeopardise her reputation because of his reluctance to move.

James stood with Synnove cradled in his arms. He stood there for a while contemplating how to pull the covers back and tuck her in while she was still in his arms. No matter what way he held onto her, he did not see this plan coming to fruition. He let out a sigh of desperation and balanced on one leg, using the other to kick back the covers. James amazed himself with his success, but that quickly turned to irritation as he watched Keys digging at the covers doing a much better job at pulling them back than James had done. He rolled his eyes at the beast and swallowed his angry comments, knowing it would do no good to lose his temper and yell at the dog now.

James carefully lowered Synnove out of his arms and made sure she looked comfortable where she lay. When he was satisfied he went to pull the covers back up over her but found there was a body in his way.

"Dogs do not go under the covers!" James whispered angrily at Keys, "get out!" he ordered.

Keys simply stared at James and wagged his tail in response, he certainly wasn't going to move from the warm bed and lie on the floor like a dog was supposed to do. He may have been a so called 'infernal beast', but he possessed intelligence that some people seemed to lack.

"Alright fine! But you better not have fleas, or wake Miss Synnove," James said forcefully to the dog before pulling the covers up over Synnove and Keys, still glaring at him. It was a ridiculous thing to think, but James could not help but wish he could switch bodies with Keys for just one night.

"Goodnight my Synnove, I hope you feel better in the morning," he said trailing his fingers through her hair before kissing her cheek again and leaving the room. He could not wait until he fell asleep, the day had been a very long one and he was beginning to feel the toll the journey was taking on his body.

Once she was certain Norrington was asleep in his own room down the opposite end of the ship Yulia walked down the hallway to the room that she shared with Synnove. She could not hold her tongue on the matter any longer, even if she could not tell Synnove everything, she would tell her as much as she possibly could. Synnove was the closest thing Yulia had ever had to a real friend and she did not want to think of her being in such unknowing danger. She opened the door and quietly slipped into the room. Synnove was lying on her side, wide awake and coughing unpleasantly. Keys was lying next to her one ear raised and his head tilted to the side watching her.

"Synnove?" Yulia called, drawing Synnove's attention away from the discomfort her coughing fit was producing.

"Hello Yulia, what are you doing still awake? My coughing did not disturb you did it?"

"No, no, I am fine, but I do have something I wish to speak with you about."

"What is it?"

"How long have you known your travelling companions for?"

Synnove raised an eyebrow at Yulia before answering her question, "I have known James for about three months by now, maybe longer, I am not sure you see I have not really been counting," she said.

"What about the other two?"

"Groves and Gillette have been with us for slightly less time, around two and a half months maybe, like I said, I have not been counting the days."

"I see," Yulia said slowly.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"You trust them completely?"

"I would trust all of them with my life; they have proven themselves to be trustworthy honourable men. Besides the fact that they have proven themselves to me over and over again, they are ex naval officers, that alone gives me confidence in their good character. Why do you ask Yulia?"

"Perhaps you friends are not as honourable as you seem to think that they are Synnove," Yulia said quietly, "from what I have experience Naval officers are nothing but monsters in fancy uniforms," she shook her head in disgust as she thought about what those Naval officers had done to her family and most importantly, what they have done to her innocent little sister.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Synnove all but yelled at the woman she had thought was her friend, "how dare you suggest that James, Gillette and Groves are monsters!"

"I am only telling you what I know to be the truth," Yulia said trying to calm Synnove down.

"James is the most honourable and reliable man I have ever met, Groves and Gillette as well and I will not hear another word against any of them. They are good people!"

Yulia waved her arms about in a motion which was intended to quiet Synnove down as she did not want their argument to wake up the entire ship, but the motions only served to further anger Synnove. "I am telling you this for your own good Synnove, the last thing I want is for what happened to Antanasia to happen to you as well. You have to see that I only have your best interests at heart!"

"Why should I believe you?" Synnove questioned, "I have known them for far longer than I have known you."

"Do you not see that this is how they do it! They earn your trust one minute and then the next they, they," Yulia trailed off.

"What is it that they do?"

"They do terrible things Synnove, terrible things! Please tell me you understand."

"How can I see when you will not even tell me what happened?"

Yulia lowered her head, "it is not my place to tell you what happened, I have been sworn to secrecy and I will not break my vow."

"Then how can you honestly expect me to believe you? Until you are willing to tell me then I see no reason for this conversation to continue any further," Synnove said forcefully.

"I am not the only one who cowers from Naval officers whether they are on active duty or not. They are monsters, please believe me when I say you should get as far away from them as possible," Yulia said, her pleading eyes locked onto Synnove's stern ones, "please Synnove, you are my friend, I would not have said anything otherwise."

Synnove looked away from Yulia's intense gaze, she knew that James would never hurt her and neither would Gillette or Groves, "if that is what you think about my friends, then I think it would be best if you and I no longer shared a bedroom."

"I do trust you, it is them that I do not trust!" Yulia said, she did not want to leave Synnove alone where who knows what could happen to her, "but if you honestly think that it is for the best, I will not fight with you on this matter anymore. Just please keep in mind that my door is always open to you Synnove," Yulia said, turning on her heel and exiting the room.

Synnove glared at the ceiling in the darkness of her bedroom, Keys still lay next to her, following her every move with his big brown eyes.

"Oh Keys, I do not know what to do with Yulia. I am so confused," she said. Keys shifted against her and nudged her hand until she moved it to stroke his head. "I wish my brothers were here right now, they would know just the right things to say to make everything better, no matter what naughty things they did, they always knew how to mend broken friendships."

Synnove rolled onto her side and punched her pillow in frustration; she wished that Yulia had never come in to her room to have her little discussion because now she could not get to sleep no matter how hard she tried. All of the happy feelings she had been experiencing before were completely gone, and it was too late to go and find James in an attempt to cheer herself up. Synnove came to the conclusion that she was going to continue glaring at the ceiling until she fell asleep.

* * *

Hello my dear readers, and welcome to those of you who recently added Serendipity to your alerts – I thank you very much for your attention. I'm sorry this part is late (I seem to be saying that a lot), but I appear to have a bit of writer's block. You see I know where I want the story to go; it's just getting there that is killing my (limited) sanity.  
I also seemed to have become distracted by Beckett demanding a story of his own (I am not sure if I will post it as it is rather different *smutty* compared to this story). Speaking of Beckett, has anyone else notice that it is near impossible to find a Beckett that isn't Beckabeth (which I refuse to read for obvious reasons)?


	34. Her Voice Resides

From the moment Synnove had woken up, she had been in a terrible mood and nothing could seem to cheer her up. The fact that she had not spoken to James since falling asleep on him last night did nothing to improve her mood about the current situation. James had been stolen from the breakfast table before he had even been allowed to sit down, let alone say good morning to his companions. The Captain had whisked him away, informing him that something needed to be attended to and that there was no better man to do it than James. Gillette had left shortly after saying that he needed to find a good hiding spot before the Captain decided to give him orders as well. While James and Gillette were otherwise engaged, Groves too had been stolen away from her company and forced up the crow's-nest. After that Synnove had spent the rest of the morning solely in the company of Keys, although he was entertaining, he was no substitute for a decent human conversation, especially when she had so many things on her mind and needed to sort them through with someone who could help her. It did not escape her notice that once again the Osmosechu women were absent from mealtime, now they spent most of their time secluded together in their own room, with little interaction between them and the other passengers.

Synnove slowly made her way from her room, which was beginning to feel smaller each time she was forced to spend her time in there. She decided that she would make her way to the deck and soak up some of the sunshine while there was still sunshine and heat left to be found. As she made her way along her thoughts kept drifting back to what Yulia had said the night before, ever since Yulia had said the things that she had Synnove had not been able to stop her mind from returning there. She certainly was not swayed by anything that Yulia had to say about James, Gillette and Groves, but she did have to agree that Yulia did make one very prominent point. Synnove had known nothing of James Norrington when she first came across him, and she had believed every word that he had said since. She had even embarked on a journey with a group of men, who for lack of a better term, were relative strangers to her. Everything she knew about them she had learnt from them, she had no other references to compare their stories or their characters to. For all that Synnove knew, they could be terrible monsters of men, but when she looked them straight in the eyes, she did not doubt that they were the men they claimed to be. They could have told her anything, and she would have believed them because she trusted the look in their eyes. It was ridiculous and of course Synnove understood that, but there was nothing anyone could say which would change her mind about the strangers who had become like family to her over the course of time that she had begun to know them. She blamed her Mother for her optimistic view of people, her Mother was one of those friendly people that viewed strangers as being friends that you had not met properly yet and as a result she treated everyone with kindness and open arms. That had, of course, lead to her untimely death, but she knew her Mother would not have changed anything about how she treated people even if she had known what would happen to her. Synnove could not help but feel the same way when she thought about James, Gillette and Groves. If they lead her to her own untimely death then she would welcome it because she had their friendship for a least some time, friendship which she had never had before in her life thanks to her somewhat reclusive nature which had seemed to melt away the first time she set her eyes on James Norrington.

Synnove cautiously made her way over to the railing where she had initiated her first and hopefully last swimming trip of the voyage. She threw her fears away and leant against the railing, staring out at the sea and thinking.

Yulia had been such a great friend to Synnove ever since she had slowly begun to open up and Antanasia had always been so talkative and lively, never missing a beat in any conversation. It had only been after the accident that Yulia and Antanasia had begun to distance themselves from Synnove and her travelling companions. Perhaps something had happened between the two groups while Synnove had been unconscious? But then again, Yulia had admitted how charming and kind she thought that Groves was after he had saved her, so maybe it had less to do with the accident than she had originally thought. Synnove let out a long sigh and stared out over the ocean. The problem obviously had more to do with the fact that they were former naval officers than anything else, for as far as she could tell Yulia and her younger sister had no problems with her companions before she found out that piece of information.

As far as Synnove knew the only people who were afraid of authority figures, such as the British Navy, were people who had done something wrong in the first place. The only sorts of people who would be afraid of Naval officers would be outlaws and pirates. But the more Synnove thought about that conclusion the more she realised it was impossible. Yulia was so kind and timid, there was no way she could be any sort of outlaw, let alone a vicious murdering pirate. There was no way that Antanasia, as young as she was could be one of those things either, especially when one took into consideration how sickly she had been when the voyage first started. Yulia and Antanasia certainly were not built for a life at sea, so that definitely ruled out piracy of any kind. Mother Osmosechu was a hard woman, but Synnove could not see her as a pirate or an outlaw either.

Yulia had also let it slip that she knew of Port Royal, quite well if Synnove recalled their conversation correctly. Maybe the Osmosechu family had lived in Port Royal before they made their way to Tortuga? But if that had been the case then where on earth was Yulia and Antanasia's Father? Synnove could speculate endlessly about the motivation behind Yulia's outburst, but none of that would help if Yulia would neither confirm nor deny anything that she came up with.

Synnove let out another long sigh, detective work was most certainly not her forte. If Antanasia were around a bit more she could surely get some information out of the younger girl as she always seemed to be willing to talk. But she had not seen Antanasia since she had woken up and neither had anyone else apart from her family members. She only knew this because Gillette had mentioned how quiet it had been without Antanasia around; she also recalled that James had looked a little off when the young girl was mentioned. Synnove made her mind up that she would ask James what he knew about Antanasia's absence, but she would have to be careful about how she worded her question. The last thing she wanted was James thinking that she did not trust him, especially when nothing could be further from the truth. Another aggravated sigh escaped from her lips before her thoughts were interrupted.

"Apple for your thoughts Miss Synnove?" James said coming to a stop behind Synnove, a green apple sitting cradled in his hands.

Synnove tilted her head to the side in confusion, "I thought the saying was penny for your thoughts. Have I been saying it wrong for all this time?"

James smiled, "No Miss Synnove, you have been saying it correctly, however I do not have any pennies on me so I thought I would offer an apple instead."

"Oh, I understand now," Synnove replied nodding, "wait, where did you get that apple from?"

"The food stores. I was forced to miss breakfast this morning so I thought that I would help myself to something to eat. Would you like a bite?"

"No thank you James, you need it more than I do, I had my fill at breakfast. Make sure you do not let Gillette see that you have it though, he may run away with it."

"He has been snapped up by the ship's cook to help make dinner, so I have nothing to worry about for now. Dinner on the other hand may be worth skipping tonight," James said smirking at Synnove. "Seeing as you will not take my apple, will you tell me what is wrong anyway? You seem to be doing an awful lot of sighing."

"Good morning James," Synnove said turning to face James, her frown transforming into a smile for him, "nothing is wrong per say, there are just quite a few things on my mind that is all."

"Is it something that I could help you figure your way through?" He said finally taking a large bite out of his apple.

"I am not entirely sure of that either James," Synnove said.

"I see, Miss Synnove if it is a matter which you would rather not discuss with me then please just say –"

"No, no James, it is nothing like that I assure you," Synnove said cutting James off before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "It is just that I have noticed that Antanasia seems to be avoiding us like the plague lately, I have not seen her since I first awoke. It has me worried; did the ship's doctor mention anything to you about her?"

"I fear the ship's doctor is of little use to anyone, I believe his best years in the field of medicine are far behind him."

"Is that so?"

"He does not seem to be particularly passionate about his chosen field any longer, though I could just be misinterpreting his personality," James said moving to lean against the railing standing closely next to Synnove and tossing his apple core over the side of the ship.

"I could not say," Synnove paused threading her arm through James' and leaning her head against his shoulder, "I do not recall ever having met the man." Synnove smiled at the thought of how at ease she felt with James despite what she had been thinking earlier. She had no doubt in her mind that James was a gentle kind soul and certainly not a monster, his green eyes held no malicious intent, if she was sure of anything she was sure of that fact.

James grunted in reply, "that does not surprise me in the least. It would appear many of the things on this ship do not function as they should."

"Does that mean that you did not enjoy your time in the Crow's-nest?" Synnove asked smirking at James.

He raised his eyebrow at her, "decidedly not."

Synnove remained quiet for a moment before calling his name, "James?"

"Yes Miss Synnove."

"If there is nothing wrong with Antanasia, then why has she been avoiding us? It is almost as if she is afraid of something."

James coughed and looked out at the sea, in an attempt to pretend that he did not hear a word that Synnove had just spoken.

"James?" Synnove called again, turning moving about so that she could catch his eye, "something else is wrong is it?"

"Not wrong in as many words Miss Synnove."

"Then what happened to her?"

"I may have taken my temper out on her, I raised my voice and blamed her for your fall. She was already distraught enough as it was, but I yelled at her all the same."

"Is that all?" Synnove asked.

"I will admit that I am not proud of my actions, but yes, that is all. She spoke of the possibility of your death and it enraged me. I told her that I would never forgive her for harming you."

Synnove considered what James had just told her, "you know what happened was an accident."

"If she had not leant on the railing –" James began before Synnove cut him off by placing a finger against his lips and shushing him.

"It is alright James. That is all in the past now, you saved me and I am fine, there is no need for you to still be angry with anyone."

"Perhaps," he admitted vaguely, not liking where Synnove was most likely going with this conversation. He knew he would have to apologise to the young girl sometime, he just preferred to put it off for as long as he possibly could.

"James?"

"I think I know where you are going with this Miss Synnove. I know I should apologise to Miss Antanasia for my actions,"

"I was going to suggest that, if only for the sake of keeping the peace on the ship. I do miss Antanasia and her lively conversation."

"I know," James said sighing, "I will apologise to her the next time that I see her."

"Thank you James."

The pair stood together in silence for a while, just looking out over the sea and enjoying each other's company.

"I am glad to see that you have gained the confidence to be so close to the railing once again Miss Synnove," James said interrupting the silence.

"Yes," she said turning to smile at James, "I decided that I was being foolish about the entire matter. If you were the one who supervised the railing being fixed then I obviously have nothing to fear."

"I am glad to have your confidence in me restored."

Synnove raised her eyebrow at him, "we have been over this many times before James, my confidence in you was never lost," she said firmly, stepping closer to James and threading her arm through his.

James smiled at Synnove and brushed a strand of her long black hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear, "I just needed to hear you say it again."

"Then if it makes you feel better I will keep telling you, until you get tired of hearing my voice!" Synnove exclaimed happily.

"I do not think that you will ever have to worry about that happening Miss Synnove," he said playing absentmindedly with the stray strands of black hair which were flying in the wind.

James and Synnove were interrupted by the sound of feet running along the deck having come from somewhere below and coming to a stop leaning over the edge of the ship. The small body belonged to Antanasia who was currently emptying the contents of her stomach over the side of the ship. Synnove tightened her grip on James' arm and lead him over closer to Antanasia.

"Are you not feeling well Antanasia?" Synnove asked the girl, rubbing her free hand in circles around her back.

"Oh no, I should be fine in a moment Nove!" Antanasia said forcing herself to sound as cheerful as possible. She turned her head to face Synnove and Mr. Norrington and gave them both a dazzlingly large smile.

"James, could you please find me a cup of water for Antanasia?" Synnove asked.

"Of course," he said removing himself from Synnove's grip and making his way to the kitchen.

When he returned a few minutes later he saw Antanasia and Synnove were conversing as if nothing had happened between the two to cause the distance which Synnove had mentioned before. Perhaps he would not have to apologise to the small girl after all, she did not seem the type to hold grudges for long. Maybe Miss Antanasia had already forgiven him for his misdirected anger.

James approached slowly, the hand holding the cup was outstretched towards Antanasia who quickly took the cup and drained the water no sooner than it had passed her lips. She smiled up and James and thanked him for his assistance.

Antanasia was wearing many layers, making her small frame look deceptively bulky and the way which she walked had a distinctly strange look to it. Synnove linked her arm with the small girl and took her for a short walk up and down the deck to let Antanasia get some fresh air while James and Keys followed behind, eyes watching for anything out of the ordinary. Synnove watched as with every roll of the ship Antanasia seemed to cradle her stomach, which was hidden by all of her layers of clothing. Synnove raised an eyebrow at the peculiar gesture, but she did not say anything, she would keep her thoughts to herself for now. When the group came to a stop on the opposite side of the ship James cleared his throat, it was now or never.

"Miss Osmosechu, there is something which I need to say to you," he said.

"Yes Mr. Norrington?"

James looked at Synnove for reassurance that this was necessary, her wide blue eyes telling him everything that he needed to know. "I need to apologise for my actions regarding the incident which occurred earlier on in the voyage, I think you know that one which I am referring to," he said pausing and waiting for Antanasia to reply with a simple nod of her head before continuing, "I should not have treated you with such disrespect. I am sorry."

"Apology accepted Mr. Norrington, but truth be told, I was never angry with you in the first place. I understand that you care deeply for Nove and seeing her in danger would have obviously upset you."

Synnove blushed and smiled at James, "nevertheless, I needed to apologise," he said with a firm nod."I hope that you and our sister can make amends with Miss Synnove now, she has mentioned missing your presence."

"I was not aware that there was any sort of problem," Antanasia commented.

"I thought that you were avoiding us because of what happened?" Synnove asked.

"Most definitely not, I have been feeling a little sick lately so Mother decided I should stay with her instead. But if it is Yulia you are also worrying about, then you should know that her concern for me has nothing to do with Mr. Norrington raising his voice at me," Antanasia told the pair. "I should not be mentioning any of this to you, but her concern for me has more to do with the challenges I will have to face in the coming months."

"What sort of challenges?" James asked, clearly confused.

Synnove let out a gasp, "I think I understand. You are?" Synnove stopped her question short; not wanting to reveal something that Antanasia might not want James to know about.

"Yes, I am."

James raised his eyebrow at Synnove but got no reply to his silent question.

"Come with me below deck again and I will explain everything to you both. I am tired of keeping this a secret, but that does not mean I want everyone with a pair of ears to hear what I am about to tell you. Mother will of course be furious when she finds out that I told you, but it is not her secret to keep, it is mine!" Antanasia said forcefully. She let go of Synnove's arm and walked ahead, beckoning for the two to follow her.

Synnove stepped forward next to James who was still trying to fit the pieces together, she smiled at him and he smiled back in return. Her arm found its way back to its usual resting place linked with James' and they made their way behind Antanasia.

* * *

Does anyone have any ideas just what Antanasia's big secret is?  
Also an interesting question was raised by Norrieo and now I curious what everyone's opinion is. What makes the Navy boys so attractive to us, apart from the obvious good looks/chivalry/charm? After all, Sparrow has good looks and charm … personally I think it is the Britishness and the sense of authority. What does everyone else think?

Norrieo – I promise to read your extracts before my next post! I keep meaning to do it, but university keeps surprising me with essay due date 0_0


	35. Bittersweet Memories

"Antanasia, there you are!" Yulia exclaimed running down the hall to intercept her younger sister, James and Synnove as best as she could with her long dress tangling around her legs. "I was so worried when I woke up and could not find you."

"Hello sister!" Antanasia replied happily, waving as if she did not have a care in the world.

"Do not pretend that you are so innocent little sister! Where have you been?"

"If you really must know I was emptying the contents of stomach over the side of the ship. Miss Synnove and Mr. Norrington here were kind enough to take care of me," she said stepping closer to her sister and whispering in her ear things which Synnove and James could not hear, and even if they could have heard, they would not have been able to understand.

Yulia and Antanasia whispered frantically to one another, Antanasia was making wild gestures with her arms, one of which nearly collided with the unsuspecting Gillette's face as he came down the hallway followed closely by Groves, curious to find out what all the fuss was about. Yulia's eyes drifted slowly to meet Groves; her gaze then drifted the opposite way to fall on Synnove and James, whose arms were linked tightly together. She shook her head at her younger sister, pleading one more time with her in their native language.

"I have made up my mind Yulia. It is my secret to keep and I should be the one to decide whom I tell and whom I do not!" Antanasia yelled.

Yulia shrank back from her younger sister's anger, even the hardened former navy officers were surprised by the ferocity of her loud voice coming from such a small vessel.

"If you do not mind me asking, what is going on here?" Groves asked.

Yulia bit her lip and remained silent; she could feel Groves' eyes staring at her and could not force her voice to make a sound.

"Yulia and I were just having a bit of an argument, well, not really. Yulia is far too quiet to have a proper argument with, but you know what I mean," Antanasia said, diverting attention away from her nervous sister.

"Have you made up your minds?" Synnove asked.

"Yes," Antanasia said, Yulia only nodded in response. "You two can come as well, I know how close you four are so it would easier to tell you all in one place."

"Tell us what?" Gillette asked.

"A story of sorts, now hurry along," Antanasia said continuing down the hall to Synnove's room, "come on, we do not have all day!"

When the group was all safely in the room and the door was locked to any intrusions Antanasia turned to them all and announced. "I am with child and it is a long story so you should all make yourselves comfortable."

"It is you who needs to concern yourself with being comfortable," Synnove said, ignoring the fact that all three men were wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the small girl's admission.

"I am fine for now, with all of the worrying you and my sister do over me you will be the ones needing rest," she said directing her smile to her incredibly worried looking sister. "Sit down Yulia! I do not think that any of them will bite."

Yulia gave Antanasia a scowl before taking the vacant seat between James and Groves, still looking rather worried. Synnove planted herself on the bed next to Antanasia and James sat on the seat closest to Synnove and next to Groves.

"Start whenever you are ready, there is no rush Antanasia," Synnove said in an attempt to reassure the small girl that she was completely safe where she was.

Antanasia smiled at Synnove before taking a deep breath and beginning her story, "Every morning at exactly the same time her would stop by the bakery that our family owned He would buy the same thing for lunch before going off to work. I would always be the one who served him because he would also come in during my turn looking after the shop," Antanasia smiled faintly at the memory before continuing on, "he was always so polite, so kind and so friendly, staying longer than he should, just talking to me about whatever came to his mind. He really was such an intelligent man and he taught me many new words in English. I know that I am only young, but I began to fall in love with him, he told me that I was special and the way he acted around me made me believe every word that he said. I trusted him completely," Antanasia paused, looking down at her feet, "I suppose that was my biggest mistake, being so naïve as to trust him when clearly he had ulterior motives."

"You could not have known what his intentions were Antanasia, even I could not see that he was a monster," Yulia said moving forward in her seat to hold her sisters hand in an attempt to comfort her.

"I think I understand now," Synnove said, "he was a authority figure of some sort, perhaps a naval officer?" Synnove asked, ignoring the shocked looks from her male companions. "That is why Yulia wanted me to be careful once that he learnt that James, Gillette and Groves were former naval officers."

"Yes," Yulia said simply, "I was so worried that they would hurt you the way that Antanasia was hurt. Please forgive me?" She asked looking from Groves to Gillette to James and then back again, "I know not all men are the same as him, but that did not stop me from worrying."

Groves placed his hand gently on Yulia's shoulder, "it is your job as an older sister to worry about others, I think I speak for all of us when we say we hold no ill will towards you or your family."

Synnove nodded rapidly in agreement, along with her other two companions.

"Who was he?" James asked, a dangerous tone edging its way into his voice.

"No one too important, I leant that later on. There is nothing anyone can do now Mr. Norrington, so there is no real need for me to reveal his name," Antanasia said dismissively.

"I would still like to know, if he was one of my men –"

"That does not really matter either, thank you for your concern, really I am glad for it. But telling you his name would only not serve any beneficial purpose."

James opened his mouth to say something more but Synnove silenced him by putting her hand on top of his in a gesture of comfort. "There is nothing that can be done to change things now, please continue with your story Antanasia," she said turning to smile at the troubled young girl.

"Father and our younger brother Vladimir found themselves on the wrong side of Lord Beckett on more than one occasion, and each time they flirted with that danger they came closer to being caught. The Father of my child promised me that if I did everything he said, that my family would all be safe. He told me that he was highly enough ranked that he could ensure their absolute safety, so I let him have his way with me. I would have waited until marriage otherwise, I am no common dock-whore," Antanasia said forcefully.

"None of us were thinking that Antanasia," Synnove said reassuringly.

"I just wanted to make that fact clear, I know what people will say about me once they all begin to notice. I am prepared for the glares and whispers of strangers, but I would prefer if my friends did not think so badly of me," her eyes darted around the room nervously.

"Miss Synnove is completely correct, none of us would think so lowly of you," Gillette said.

"Thank you," Antanasia said in such a quiet whisper it was almost inaudible. "He took everything that I could give him, and he could not even fulfil his promise. It would not have been so bad, I think, if he had kept his promise," tears slipped down the cheeks of the young girl. "On a morning just like any other, he came to visit, but that time it was different. Outside stood a large group of soldiers and they were all waiting for him, he had never come with company before, so I knew immediately that something was off. I dismissed it anyway, thinking he was merely more busy than usual. I suppose I would have told myself anything just so I didn't have to come to terms with the obvious. He arrested my Father and brother, their actions of defiance towards Lord Beckett had finally caught up with them and they were to be hanged at noon that very same day." Antanasia pause for a moment to calm herself before continuing on with her tale, "he put the shackles around their wrists, he walked alongside them as they made their way through the streets and to the gallows. He stood by their side and read their alleged list of crimes to the crowd before finally giving the order for them to hang," Antanasia stopped speaking, unable to form coherent words through her tears and sobs which caused her entire body to move violently.

Yulia continued on for her sister, "Vladimir was only nine years old, but he had the mind of one much younger, he was so small that they had to place him on a barrel so that he could reach the noose. He continued smiling all the way to his fate, he did not understand what was happening, and all he knew was that he was with his Father and that he had an audience. He waved at us and Mother and Father did the same. Father knew what was happening, but he would not let Vladimir be worried about the future. It is not something you forget easily, watching their bodies struggle against the forever tightening knot. After a while, they go still and quiet, just hanging limply in the air, their bodies being pushed around by the Caribbean breeze. When they begin to move in the breeze, it is easy to forget that they are dead, for they look like they are still alive," Yulia said tears streaming down her cheeks to match the rivers now making their way down Antanasia's face.

Groves and James on either side of Yulia did not know what to do, Synnove was cradling Antanasia in her arms and giving her comfort, but Yulia needed comforting as well. Groves awkwardly pulled the crying young woman closer to him and wrapped his arms gently around her shoulders, letting her cry on him.

The group sat there for a while in relative silence as the story slowly sunk into their minds. Synnove was gently rocking Antanasia in her arms and whispering to the girl things that she would not understand.  
Antanasia wriggled around in Synnove's arms and said, "I'm alright now, I know I have Mother and Yulia to look after me."

"I will help you in any way that I can, I was by my Mother's side when she had my four younger brothers."

"Four!" Antanasia let out a gasp, "at the same time? I do not think I could handle that many at once!"

"No, no, not all at once. Only two came out at once, the others were all solo. But then again, it is possible to have four at once I suppose. Cats and dogs manage pretty well after all," Synnove said smirking.

"That is not funny! Yulia, tell her she isn't being funny!" Antanasia squealed.

"Tell her yourself, you are loud enough," Yulia replied, completely removing herself from Groves with a small blushing smile gracing her features.

"But I made you smile, and that is what I was aiming for!" Synnove declared.

James smiled at her before saying, "if there is any way in which I can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to ask."

"The same goes for us," Gillette said slapping Groves on the back and answering for him.

"Thank you Mr. Norrington, Mr. Groves, Mr. Gillette, but I think I will be alright. Mother and Yulia have done a brilliant job of looking after me so far. If however, they become fed up with me; expect me at Synnove's door!"

"I will not get fed up with you, I have put up with you for this long after all!" Yulia said glaring at her little sister in mock anger for even suggesting such a thing.

"She says that now," Antanasia commented raising her eyebrow.

"And she will continue to say it!" Yulia argued.

"Okay," Antanasia said, "if nobody minds, I think I should be going back to our room before Mother wakes up and sends the ship into a frenzy looking for me! Come one Yulia," she grabbed her older sister's hand and pulled her along behind her towards the door. "Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I feel better now that more people than just my family know about it." Antanasia dropped her sister's hand and darted back over to Synnove, throwing her arms around the black haired woman and holding her as tightly as she thought was safe to in her condition. She then turned back around and darted out the door with Yulia following closely behind.

"Good bye for now," Yulia managed to say before she was hauled away by her forceful smaller sister.

She received a chorus of "goodbye," in response.

"Do you think she will be alright?" Groves asked.

"Antanasia is very strong willed, I do not think she will let anything stop her," Synnove said, nodding in agreement with herself.

"I believe you will be correct Miss Synnove," James said, "come on, we should return to the deck for a while," he took Synnove's hand and assisted her in getting up from her seat on the bed. Groves lead the group out of the room, and the ever-loyal Keys trailed behind.

* * *

I have another question for you all - If you could live in any time and any place (in history or in the future), where / when would you want to live?

Thank you to my dear reader who always review (you know who you are and I LOVE YOU) and thank you to everyone who has added 'Serendipity' to their watch list etc (I LOVE YOU AS WELL).  
Norrieo – Jack Davenport in a music video! That band has now won my respect (which is a hard thing to do where I am concerned). I may just have to watch that video again…. several times. I assure you, watching Mr. Davenport dance around will make you feel better about anything!  
As for your book – I liked what I read of it!


	36. Hit The Floor

"You know, you have been staring at that same plank of wood for the better part of the last half hour?" Groves said, coming to stand next to James.

James grunted in reply and continued to stare at the plank of wood, lost in his thoughts about Antanasia's revelation, as well as the things which Synnove did not say.

"Is Antanasia's story bothering you? You know that there was nothing any of us could have done to change what happened," Groves said, trying to console his friend. Groves did not mention the fact that he was sure that he felt even guiltier that James did. But he would have to address his own concerns later.

"I realise that, but I cannot help but think what would have happened differently if I had still held my post that maybe things would have turned out better for the poor young girl."

"There is no point in speculating about that, what's done is done. But I know that is not the only thing that is bothering you, so out with it."

James dragged his gaze away from the patterns in the deck and looked straight at Groves, "what do you think Miss Synnove meant when she mentioned the elder Miss Osmosechu warning her away from us? Do you think that Miss Synnove does not trust us, does she doubt our sincerity?"

"I do not think so, but you can ask her for yourself," Groves said, motioning behind James. "I see that she is making her way over here right now." With that final word, Groves removed himself from his position next to James and walked towards the young woman.

"Hello there Miss Synnove!" Groves said nodding his head to her before continuing onwards.

"Hello Mr. Groves," she replied, smiling happily and coming to a stop standing next to James, who remained unresponsive. "Is something wrong James? You do not seem your usual self at the moment."

"I just have a few things on my mind, that is all," he said, waving his hand dismissively at her.

"It certainly does not seem like something which is so easily dismissed," Synnove said moving closer to James and looking up at him with her pleading blue eyes. "Please tell me what is wrong."

James let out a low sigh, but before he could continue on the Captain interrupted.

"Herr Norrington, I am in need of your assistance!" Captain Gibbons yelled from his place at the wheel of the ship.

James nodded to the Captain in silent response, "perhaps we should continue this discussion later Miss Synnove. It appears I can never go for long until the Captain finds something for me to do. Forgive me," he said bowing his head and turning away from her. Synnove let out a sad sigh as she watched James walk away from her, they were only about halfway through their journey and she was losing him already Synnove realised. He would only get more distant from her from now on. She shook her sad thoughts away and decided to return to her room and find some way to pass the time until dinner, taking one last look over at James.

James took over the Captain's position at the helm of the ship and watched as Gibbon's staggered off to who-knows-where, but by the size of the empty bottle he was clutching, it was obvious he was looking for a refill of sorts.

James closed his eyes briefly and allowed the salty winds to lash around him; standing tall and proud he took a depth breath in and then let it out in a low sigh. He then slumped over the wheel in the most uncharacteristic manner, feeling sadness and desperation well up painfully inside of his chest. It hurt in the exact same place where Bootstrap-Bill had run him through with the sword and he doubled over in pain, feeling as if the blade was repeating the same path as before. James' face contorted in pain but he did not make a sound, he found that he could not make a sound due to the excruciating pain he was feeling.

All the sounds of the ship disappeared and all that James could hear was the roaring of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He slumped further over as he tried to regain his breath, but nothing was working. A slow curtain of darkness began to drift across his vision and he could tell that he was about to lose consciousness.

"James!" a female voice cried next to him. He felt small hand grabbing at his shirt and attempting to steady him and make him stand properly, before moving to cup his face. "James!" the same voice cried again, the darkness which had been creeping across his vision disappeared and he could finally recognise who the distressed voice belonged to.

Bright blue eyes were staring straight at him. Synnove's eyes, which meant that Synnove had been the one calling to him. It was Synnove's small hands that were tightly gripping onto his shirt and pulling his face towards her. Why had he not been able to recognise her voice?

Pain still stabbed through his chest, but it was more bearable at the moment, if only slightly so. He stood tall once again and met Synnove's concerned eyes, but he still found himself unable to talk.

"James? What is wrong?" she asked him, one arm was wrapped around his waist and the fingers belonging to the other hand were caressing his cheek, "James?" Synnove was supporting much of his weight and it was beginning to take its toll on her small frame, but she did not say a word about it.

"Miss Synnove, I do not know what is happening," he managed to say between gasps of pain. His hand was over his heart and it was then that he could feel a sticky liquid on the tips of his fingers.

"Are you hurt? What can I do?" Synnove said, panic evident in her voice.

James removed his hand from his chest and brought it to where he and Synnove could see it better. His fingertips and the palm of his hand were covered in dark red blood, which dripped from his fingers onto the deck below. His shirt was also stained a dark red with his blood. Synnove let a gasp escape from her lips and her hands began to dart towards his buttons in order to undo them and discover what sort of injury he had. But before she could remove her arm from around his waist, before their eyes the blood soaked into James' skin and disappeared. The pain in his chest receded as well and it was as if whatever had happened had been a figment of his imagination.

"What on earth?" Synnove gasped her eyes wide. Her hand which had been on his cheek made its way down to rest over his heart. She pulled her fingers away to check for any evidence of blood, but her long pale fingers provided no such information.

James stared in silent wonder at her fingertips and he brought them closer to his face to inspect them, "please tell me that I am not the only one who expected to see something different?"

"Where did the blood go James? And where did it come from in the first place?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Miss Synnove," James said.

"Are you still in pain?" She asked, her eyes searching his face for any signs of discomfort.

"No, it seems to have came as quickly as it went. Thank you for your concern Miss Synnove, but I think I should be fine for now."

Synnove took that as her queue to leave and her arms reluctantly dropped away from him and she stepped back slightly, "I find the more you try to make sense of something, the stranger it becomes. However, strangeness aside, I think I should return below deck until dinner," Synnove said, her eyes showing a hint of sadness within them as she remembered James' less than enthusiastic manner earlier.

"Please don't go Miss Synnove. I do apologise for being so short with you earlier, I had some things on my mind which were distracting me and I felt that I needed some time to think."

"But you did not get your time," Synnove said.

"I feel that I do not need the time anymore," he said nodding to himself and smiling slightly at her, "will you come and stand here with me Miss Synnove. If I cannot show you the stars at this moment, I can at least teach you to steer a ship."

Synnove smiled at James "I thought that required months of training? Or at least that is what my Father said every time I suggested he take a nap and allow my brothers and I to steer," she said pouting slightly at the memory.

"Perfecting the art takes months of training, but I will be at your side throughout, so you need not worry Miss Synnove."

"Alright then, you have convinced me to stay!"

"Come and stand here at the wheel," James said motioning towards where he wanted her to place herself.

Synnove slid into the small gap between James' body and the large ship's wheel. She subtly let her body sink back to rest against James before smiling up at him, "what do I do now James?" she asked.

James found himself struggling to swallow as he stared at her beautiful face, if only she knew what she did to him, or how much he struggled to stay in control around her. "Hands at 10 and 2 Miss Synnove," he ordered.

Synnove raised a questioning eyebrow at James not understanding a word of what he had just said.

"Think of the shape of the wheel as a clock," he said reaching around her, "this is 12," James grabbed the top handle of the wheel. He removed his hands from the wheel and took her small hands in his, entwining her fingers with his and placing them where he deemed 10 and 2 to be positioned, "which makes this 10 and this 2."

"How do we know where we are going?"

"The Captain determines the bearings, and that compass over there tells us what we need to know to stay on course. Gillette up there," James said pointing to the top of the crows-nest, where a thoroughly bored looking Gillette was perched, "will warn us of danger from reefs, hostile ships flying pirate colours, or if he spots land."

"I see," Synnove nodded in response, "so you will help me steer?" she asked.

"Of course, we wouldn't want to cause any sort of accident now would we?"

"Most certainly not, although we could always blame Gillette for not noticing something sooner," she said giggling up at him.

James raised his eyebrow at her, " we most certainly would not want to do such a thing," he said before leaning closer to her ear and whispering, "but it always is good to have someone else to blame when plans go awry."

"Not that an upstanding officer such as yourself would have ever done such a thing!" Synnove replied.

"Assuredly not Miss Synnove," James commented in fake outrage.

Silence descended on the pair as James contemplated how best to broach the subject had been previously giving him cause for concern. He wanted to ask Synnove the truth, but he did not want to say anything which could potentially anger her, or upset her, and cause her to leave his current position in tightly squeezed between him and the ship's wheel. He did rather enjoy having her so close after having to spend such a long time away from her day in and day out as he followed the orders of the Captain. Sometimes James swore that the drunken man delighted in separating him from Synnove, if only so that someone else could be as miserable as he seemed to be with his position. James let out a sigh, it was now or never, he decided.

"Miss Synnove?"

"Yes James," she answered tilting her face backwards to catch James' eye and smiling up at him.

"What did you mean earlier when you mentioned that the elder Miss Osmosechu warned you away from us?" he asked, "away from me?" he added so quietly that Synnove almost missed his words.

"Yulia and I had an argument about whether or not it was sensible for me to trust you, Groves and Gillette after having known you for so little time. She pointed out that, from a logical point of view, I barely knew you, and that your intentions could have been anything but noble. Yulia was worried that you would be like the man who harmed her sister, noble and proud on the outside, but rotten to the core on the inside," Synnove explained. "I told her that I had no reason to doubt you, and then I told her that if she continued to hold such a dim view of the people that I trusted implicitly, then I could no longer share a room with her. After that she began staying in her Mother's room along with Antanasia. Are you mad at me for not mentioning it earlier?" she asked, looking slightly worried about James' potential response.

"No Miss Synnove, I have no reason to be angry with you, or angry with Miss Osmosechu either. I was simply concerned that I had lost your trust, or that you doubted our sincerity," he said, pausing while he took a deep breath. "I can understand her concern for you, from an outside point of view I suppose it could look a tad on the suspicious side."  
"You have to realise James, I trust you completely, please stop doubting that. If it is not too forward of me to say, I would follow you anywhere James, because I know that you are a good and honourable man."

"Thank you Miss Synnove," James said smiling at the raven haired young woman who was staring up at him. "But what stops you from thinking that this is simply a façade for something more sinister?"

Synnove let out a sigh, "there really is no pleasing you is there James? So I doubt my answer will suffice. The answer is in your eyes James," she said simply as if that was enough to explain everything that she was thinking.

"What is in my eyes?"

"They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and your eyes show kindness and compassion. There is a small bit of darkness held within them," when she saw the look upon James' face she quickly added, "but the same can be said for everyone you come across to varying degrees. For what would goodness be without darkness to make it shine more brightly?" she asked, not looking for an answer.

"You are wrong Miss Synnove."

"Oh?" she said raising her eyebrow.

"That answer did suffice."

Synnove smiled at James, but she was silently contemplating the fact that deep within his eyes she also saw a lot of pain. She hoped that one day someone would be able to make that pain go away, even if that someone was not her.

The pair continued to talk and did not move from their comfortable position until the sun had dropped from the sky and the first stars began to appear in the night sky. As the night began to grow darker Captain Gibbons returned from wherever he had originally gone so many hours ago. He was no longer staggering about in a drunken manner, but he had managed to replace his empty bottle with a slightly larger completely full vessel. He removed the cork from the bottle and threw it over the side of the ship, not caring where it would land, or the fact that it nearly hit Keys as it bounced over the side. Captain Gibbons told James and Synnove that their assistance was no longer required and just like that, the pair was dismissed.

They called Gillette down from his post and had him replaced by one of the younger passengers, who should have been stationed at such a post in the first place. Groves joined the trio shortly afterward and together they all made their way to the dining hall. Tonight the dining hall seemed to be bustling with members of the crew and their families in numbers which had not been seen since the night of the initial banquet. Synnove took the table next to the Osmosechu family, who were also surprisingly in attendance. The younger girls smiled and waved at one another, but Mrs. Osmosechu remained unmoved by any gestures of friendship.

Stefan burst through the doors and entered into the dining hall, followed closely behind by Captain D. Gibbons. A cold wind swept through the hall as the doors had been thrown and Synnove shuddered, wondering what was going on, and who was steering the ship if the Captain and his First Mate were not on deck.

Stefan's eyes were burning with what could only have been deciphered as determination. He snapped his fingers and barked out a command in German. The members of the crew and the passengers all leapt to their feet in the same moment, apparently following Stefan's orders. The Osmosechu women along with Synnove, James, Gillette, Groves and Keys all slowly made their way to their feet as well.

A low growling sound emitted from Key's throat as he stared at Stefan and James moved in front of Synnove, guarding her from whatever threat he perceived there to be. She clutched onto his coat from behind and grabbed a hold of the rope around Keys' neck which served as a collar. Groves and Gillette moved in front of the Osmosechu women to shield them from whatever was happening.

Synnove balanced on the tips of her toes and whispered to James, "what is going on?"

"I do not know Miss Synnove, but stay behind me where it is safe and if I say run, I want you to run."

"Alright, but please be careful."

"To the deck!" Stefan yelled, although he did not need to because none of the passengers were making any sounds. They simply stood, staring at Stefan with wide blank gazes. Immediately they all began to move forwards and make their way to the deck, just as Stefan had ordered. Their feet marched in time as if they were in some sort of trance, the passengers which were seated behind Synnove and her companions began to surge forward. They pushed those in front of them forward and in the throng of people James almost lost sight of Synnove. For a moment he panicked, not able to see her long black hair anywhere amongst the crowd of passengers, he felt a panic rising in his chest as his eyes darted around, searching for her. His panic subsided the minute he felt a tug on the sleeve of his coat and was met with Synnove's scared face. James' dropped his arm down and wrapped it around her waist and tightening his grip on her in order to pulling her closer. They lost sight of Groves and Gillette along with the Osmosechu women, but Synnove knew they would be alright as long as they were still together. She tightened her own grip on Key's makeshift collar with one hand and grabbed onto James' shirt with the other. Synnove's grip on them both was so tight that her knuckles were going white and her hands were shaking in anticipation and fear.

"I will not let anything happen to you, I promise," James said bending down slightly and whispering in her ear.

"I trust you," she said turning her face towards him and whispering back.

As they made their way up the stairs and onto the deck where the other passengers had stopped, Keys continued to growl, getting louder the closer they got to their destination.

Stefan stood at the back of the ship, his hands placed on his hips as he surveyed the people standing before him. Captain Gibbons stood behind him at the wheel, a bottle in one hand and his other placed on the wheel.

"Haul them forward!" Stefan's voice rang out. He raised his arms in the air and pointed towards Synnove and James.

Before anything could stop them, the members of the crew as well as the other passengers surged forwards, their arms reaching, swiping and clawing at the group which was huddled together. It was not long before Antanasia and Yulia were dragged away from their Mother and Synnove was wrenched out of James' grasp. Without any weapons, they were helpless to fight back against Stefan's orders. They were prodded and pulled until Groves, Yulia, Mrs. Osmosechu, Antanasia, Gillette, James, Synnove and Dr. Watkins were all aligned along the deck. James struggles to remove himself from the hold of his captors and free Synnove, but it was ultimately fruitless. The crew members had seemingly acquired more strength than James thought was humanly possible, and their grip only tightened the more one struggles against them.

Keys broke away from his captors and charged at the members of the crew who had their hands upon Synnove, his teeth bared and snapping at the men. As Stefan made his way down the deck, Keys turned and charged towards him instead, his sharp teeth sinking into Stefan's arm. Stefan let a sound of pain escape his lips before raising his leg and kicking Keys away. The dog let out a yelp and struggled back to his feet, limping he charged at Stefan again. And again he received the same kick to the ribs which sent him spiralling away. Synnove watched on with wide-eyed terror as the dog weakly made his way back to his feet for a third time.

"Stay down boy!" Synnove yelled, her eyes glistening with tears, "please stay down!"

Keys looked at Synnove, as if he understood everything that she was saying, before his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed onto the deck.

"What on earth do you think you are doing?" I am the ship's doctor and I demand to be set free!" Dr. Watkins yelled from his position.

"And set you free I shall," Stefan said, a malicious smile spreading across his handsome face. He raised the pistol in his hand level to the centre of Dr. Watkins' head and pulled the trigger. Dr. Watkins moved no more as his blood splattered across the neck and Synnove's light blue dress. She screamed as she watched his body slump lifelessly onto the floor. Antanasia began crying hysterically while Yulia remained silent, staring blankly at the empty space where the doctor had once stood.

Mrs. Osmosechu struggled against her captors, yelling words in her native language that made her daughters cringe at the sound of, before spitting in Stefan and Gibbons' general direction.

Once again Stefan raised his pistol and fired, this time killing the older woman before Yulia could finish her scream of protest. Another lifeless body lay slumped on the deck in a crimson pool of their own blood.

"Does anyone else wish to share their opinion?" Gibbons asked, laughing darkly at the horrified looks etched upon the women's faces.

James opened his mouth to say something, but one look into Synnove's blue eyes forced him to remain silent. Flecks of blood covered the side of her face that had been closest to Dr. Watkins' and she was shaking with fear that Stefan would turn his gun on James and remove him from her life.

"Excellent, let us continue on then shall we?" Stefan asked rhetorically.

Stefan snapped his fingers and suddenly the crew members began to dissolve. Their faces turned to liquid and dripped blackened water onto the deck before the rest of their bodies followed suit. As quickly as they had begun to dissolve, they rapidly re=solidified into thick black ropes. The ropes clung tightly to the prisoners' exposed skin and clothing, wrapping around their limbs and leaving them all unable to move. The ropes entwined around Antanasia's body, in a manner similar to a constrictor snake, holding her upright as she passed out from the shock of what had happened to her Mother.

"What did you just do?" Groves asked.

Stefan turned to glare at the man, as if contemplating to shoot him as well. "I did what I had intended to do all along. A part of me regrets the fate which will befall you all. But another part of me think that you all deserve it for being so completely trusting, and so infinitely stupid," Stefan said, pacing up and down the line of his captured passengers. "None of you thought twice about joining my crew?" he asked rhetorically. "None of you stopped to think that perhaps it was too convenient that just when you needed a ship to take you where you wanted to go, one suddenly appeared? Did none of you stop to think that it was perhaps a little suspicious that the ship left the day after our little banquet instead of the scheduled time afterwards? None of you questioned the fact that, apart from meal times and scheduled time on the deck, none of the crew or their families were nowhere to be found? You were all too absorbed in your own affairs to see the signs that things were not as idyllic as they appeared," Stefan let out a deranged laugh. "And now you are all too powerless to do anything." Stefan took a deep breath before continuing his explanation, "the crew and the other families travelling on this ship were never real to begin with my friends! They were my little puppets; I brought them out when I needed them and made them disappear when I did not. We are the only living beings on this ship and we always have been. Oh how easily it is to fool people who are content! The sad man is always looking for reasons to be sad, but the happy man, why he just continues to live in this little bubble of happiness. He questions nothing as long as he remains happy! Fools, the lot of you are fools!"

Stefan stopped his pacing and came to stand in front of Synnove, he smiled at her, showing his blackened teeth. His long fingers stretched out and caressed her cheek in a sign of affection before he tightened his grip and wrenched her face forward so that she could feel his breath brush against her skin. Synnove wriggled against his grasp but he tightened his grip, undoubtedly leaving marks on her pale skin. His other had travelled down her neck and over her collar bone. His fingers touched her bare skin and Synnove shuddered in response to the repulsive feeling. Stefan's fingers continued to trail lower before they reached the top of her breasts; he yanked on the chain around her neck and pulled her necklace out of its hiding place.

It was the same necklace which James has spotted around her neck all those night ago back in Tortuga. He had meant to ask her about it the next morning, but he had forgotten all about it and consequently never asked what its significance was.

Stefan pulled the tear shaped sapphire closer to his face so that he could get a better look at it. He seemed happy with whatever he found for he smiled at the sapphire. Next Stefan brought it next to his ear and flicked it with his finger. A loud melodic clink came from the sapphire, it reminded James of the sound of the dinner bell which used to be ring every night when he had lived in England with his parents as a young man. It was a peculiar sound for a precious stone to be making, but apparently Stefan did not think so. Once again he was smiling at the tear shaped sapphire.

"I was not entirely sure before, but now I am certain," he announced, "this is the Tår av Havet, the Tear of the Ocean. An heirloom which has been passed for Mother to Daughter for generations. This is the very thing I have been searching for," Stefan said, "as well as the woman who possess it. I was hoping to find you, my, my how you have grown. Such an enticing little morsel you have become my dear Synnove."

Synnove scowled at Stefan, she had never met this man before in her life, and if she had she would have been certain to remember him.

"But of course you do not recognise this face!" Stefan said, his spare arm moving to encircle around her waist and pull her tightly against his body. The more Synnove struggled against his grip, the tighter he held on to her. His fingers trailed over her lips and licked his own to moisten them. Before Synnove could struggle against him his wet cracked lips were pressed against hers. Stefan bit her lips and squeezed her chin, causing such pain that gasped and opened her mouth. Stefan took advantage of that moment and thrust his tongue into her mouth. Stefan's eyes locked with James' and he smirked as he continued to kiss the struggling Synnove, the hand encircling her waist drifting upwards towards her breasts.

"Get your hands off of her!" James spat, struggling against his bonds.

Stefan removed his hand from caressing Synnove's face and pushed his hand out towards James. Stefan clenched his fingers into a tight fist and all of a sudden James felt the same excruciating pain that he had felt earlier. His heart felt like a searing hot blade was being pushed through it and his could no longer hold him upright. James fought for air, and forced himself to stay upright.

Synnove ripped a hand free from her binds and slapped Stefan across the face.

The pain in James' chest receded and he finally regained his breath just in time to see Stefan pull back his fist and punched Synnove on the side of the face which he had previously been caressing. A sickening crack echoed through the silent night as Synnove's head snapped backwards. She let out a whimper of pain and her eyes made contact with James, silently begging him not to say anything further. She could not bear to see him doubled over in pain for a third time today.

"You still have such a flame in your heart Synnove, so much like your Mother. Though I daresay you have grown to overshadow her in beauty," Stefan said. This time he wrapped his fingers into her hair and pulled downwards, forcing her chin to tilt upwards and for her eyes to only see him. "I must say that I always have preferred women with blonde hair, like dear Antonetta, but you certainly give me cause to reconsider that preference."

"How dare you speak my Mother's name as if you are of a high enough standing to address her as such!" Synnove yelled in anger.

Stefan chuckled darkly, "Ah, my apologies Grevinna Synnove Nordenburg. I should show your dearly departed Mother some respect. Now, let me see, what was her full title again?" Stefan asked rhetorically. "Of yes, Grevinna Antonetta Oxenstierna, the only daughter of Greve Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna, am I correct?" He asked, smirking as he knew that he was correct.

Synnove nodded in response while James raised an eyebrow at her, trying to figure out what that grand title meant.

Stefan turned his face to address the others, "for those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of Swedish nobility, that overly long title means that your little travelling companion here is the equivalent of what you Englishmen would call a Countess," he paused for a moment to let the effect of his words sink in. His eyes trailed down the line of his prisoners before coming to rest on Norrington. "Oh do not look so surprised Norrington! Dear Grevinna Nordenburg here trusted you enough to escort her home and protect her, but she did not trust you with the knowledge that she is in fact the sole daughter of the union between a Swedish Countess and a Finnish Count."

James looked at Synnove, trying to make eye contact with her and ask if what Stefan was saying was the truth. But Stefan's fingers were still tangled in her hair and her head was tilted backwards.

"How do I know all of this? I am sure you are all dying to know. But I am sure some of you are more concerned with the fact that your dear friend has been lying to you all this time."

"James please listen to me!" Synnove cried, "I never told you what I was because I did not want to change your opinion of me. I told you once that I had never had any proper friends before and that is because every time I would make a friend, they would find out who I was and then they would stop being my friend. Whether they were afraid of my family's power or they thought I was faking who I was, no one ever stayed my friend for long," a silent tear slipped from her eye, "I did not want to lose you and your friendship before I even had the opportunity to have them. I am sorry."

"It's alright Miss Synnove, this does not change anything," James said before letting out another hasp of pain. Stefan's fist was stretched towards James and it was tightly clenched.

"I did not say that you could speak Norrington!" Stefan spat angrily.

James found enough strength to make eye contact with Synnove and say "everything will be alright Miss Synnove."

Stefan twisted his hand in a circular motion and a long black whip appeared in his hands. The whip was one which the former Naval Officers were instantly familiar with as they had seen it used many times as a form of discipline onboard vessels. The Cat o' nine tails whip cracked loudly in the air once before Stefan brought it down across James' chest.

"I told you not to speak Norrington! Now you will learn the consequence those who disobey me face!"

Stefan made a turning motion with his free hand and the ropes which held James turned him around and bent him over slightly so that he was ready for his punishment.

Stefan brought the whip down on James' back until the material of his clothing was left in tatters and his bare flesh was exposed to the power of the whip.

James eyes looked onto Synnove's, silently begging her not to cry as his blood ran out of the large open wounds on his back and seeped through his clothing. Each time the whip came down upon him, James fought the urge to cry out in pain. He bit his tongue in order to force his own silence and soon he tasted the metallic flavour of blood in his mouth.

More tears rolled down Synnove's cheeks as she watched on, completely helpless to stop Stefan's tirade.

"Stop it!" she screamed, "stop it now!"

Stefan turned to face Synnove, sneering at her before making the whip in his hand disappeared as easily as it had come into being.

"Gibbons!" Stefan shouted.

"Yes sir?" the apparently former Captain replied.

"Escort them down to the brig," he ordered, "and make sure that they all have separate cells would you, I do not want any of them getting ideas of freedom."

Gibbons nodded in response to his orders. He wrapped his fingers around each of the ropes and pulled them along behind him. Keys too was ensnared by the ropes and dragged below deck. The bodied of Mrs. Osmosechu and Dr. Watkins remained as they were, slumped lifelessly on the deck.

James fought and struggled with his remaining strength to reach out for Synnove, who also struggled against the ropes to reach James.

"Synnove!" he rasped, "do not cry, I will be fine," he called as he was hauled away.

His words did not stop her tears from falling.

* * *

Hello dears! This would have been posted sooner, but POTC COTBP was on television last night and I could not help but watch that instead of concentrating completely on writing. Or at least, I stopped concentrating on the story when James was on screen (and of course scowling when Miss Swann came on).  
I hope the length of this chapter makes up for my recent absence. This is my last week of lectures and then onto exams (I can hardly wait). Also by the end of November I should know if I got accepted for the University Exchange programme *crosses fingers*

Thank you to my reviewers, in particular Norrieo, Smilindolfin, sparrowismyhummingbird and JhonnyRox for their words of encouragement (where would I be without you!)  
As for this chapter – I am glad I finally reached this point, you know I have had this little piece planned ever since I started Serendipity and now I have finally reached it!


	37. No Easy Way Out

Hello dears! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad so many of you liked it!  
Just to clarify from the previous chapter: Doctor Watkins and the Osmosechu ladies are real, so are Gibbons and Stefan. It was all the other passengers which were fake. Groves and Gillette were both on deck and captured by Stefan as well … they were just really quiet.  
Also, James resents the fact that you all seem to think that he needs to be saved by Sparrow (but I did promise he would make an entrance now didn't I?).

On a somewhat unrelated note, AWE was on television last night, so I watched it in the longue with my Mum. I managed to surprise / annoy her with how much of the movie dialogue I can quote at the right times :D Can anyone else do that?

* * *

Stefan circled around Synnove as she stood bound in place on the deck before him, his mind was racing, but his face showed betrayed no emotion. He was overjoyed that he had finally found the one he had been searching for, for such a long time. Stefan smiled to himself and ran his fingers through his long hair, now he just had to figure out what he was going to do next. He had followed his orders more or less precisely as they had been given to him, and he still had a way to go before his mission was complete. He loathed being a glorified delivery boy, it made his blood boil the way his Master treated him, but in the end, he knew it would be worth it. His orders were clear and he would not allow anything to put this mission in jeopardy when it was so close to completion. He could almost taste the sweet flavour of success on his tongue as he thought about what the future had in store for him.

Synnove struggled against her bindings, her oceanic eyes flashing dangerously with rage; she spat and cursed at him, thinking he could not understand her foreign words. He smiled to himself, he understood everything she was saying, and he knew she would live to regret her choice of words once he revealed one of his many secrets to her. But that would have to wait, he was feeling immensely drained from his earlier actions and he could not afford to show any weakness so soon after such an extravagant display of power. No, he would need to take his time to ensure everything went according to plan, and yet he could barely stop himself from revealing everything. He would take great pleasure in revealing his closely guarded secret to her. He closed his eyes momentarily as he pictured the look of utter devastation etched upon her face; it was something he looked forward to, almost more than anything else he was getting out of this deal.

Gibbons returned from escorting his new prisoners below. He turned his nose up at the two bodies on the deck and nudged the Doctor's body with the toe of his boot.

Synnove snarled as he raised his foot to kick Mrs. Osmosechu in the same manner. His foot paused mid air, as he considered his options. Stefan had no issue with how Gibbons treated the corpses, but the little wench he had bound and tied would surely be more vocal than required about the matter. He did so hate listening to women prattle on, so he decided against kicking the Osmosechu woman, if only to save himself the trouble of having to listen to the small woman complaining.

Gibbons turned his attention to Stefan, "what shall I do with them?" he asked flicking his thumb in the direction of the unmoving bodies.

"Throw them overboard. No sense keeping corpses on board now is there?" Stefan asked rhetorically.

Gibbons unceremoniously kicked the Doctor with his boot and frowned at the unmoving body. His frown grew as he realised that he was going to have to lift the bodies over the side of the ship as opposed to simply kicking them along until the slipped easily overboard. He always hated dealing with the bodies, if Stefan was going to kill people why could Stefan not be the one who also dealt with the bodies? The answer was obvious of course, Stefan was the one with the power and Gibbons was his assistant. An assistant with a high commission, which did make up for a lot of the inconveniences, but that did not mean he enjoyed dealing with the bodies.

Gibbons lifted the unmoving body of the Osmosechu mother and carried her to the railing where he swiftly dropped her overboard without uttering even a simple word of goodbye. Mrs. Osmosechu's unseeing eyes gazed up at the stars as her body floated with the ice cold currents of the sea. Another splash of a body making contact with the water later and she was joined in her journey by Doctor Watkins.

Stefan stepped away from circling Synnove and stepped closer to Gibbons. The men stood shoulder to shoulder talking so quietly that Synnove could not hear a word that was being uttered between them. She felt her anger rising as she began to fully realise the helplessness of her situation. James had been heavily injured on Stefan's whim and although he had made it clear Synnove was the one he wanted, that did not mean that he would not treat her in the same brutal manner, or anyone else for that matter. He was a brutal, ruthless man and now that he was holding all of the cards, no one was safe. She did not know whether her body was shaking with anger or with fear, but whatever the emotion was; she did not like the feeling.

Her mind was racing at a mile a minute as she tried to come up with something, anything that would get everyone out of the current situation without losing any more lives than they already had. As she watched Gibbons and Stefan talking amongst themselves she tried to come to a reasonable conclusion. The best she could come up with was bargaining her full co-operation, in every sense of the word, in order to gain freedom for her travelling companions as well as for Yulia and Antanasia. As much as it disgusted her to even think about, there was very little she had to bargain with and she could not live with herself if she did not try everything within her limited power to save those whom she cared about. She shuddered at the memory of Stefan's ice cold fingers running along her face, his touch was nothing like James', but she would endure it if it meant that James and the others could go free. He had risked so much for her, Synnove decided that now she had to risk something for him, as soon as she got the chance.

Stefan turned from Gibbons and allowed his eyes to trail Synnove's body, "I suppose you are right Gibbons. The best place to keep her is the brig," he said giving her a sordid smirk before adding, "at least for now."

He strode quickly forward and wrenched Synnove's arm towards him. Stefan gripped Synnove's arm tightly as he dragged her behind him across the deck and down the various flights of stairs to the brig. Gibbons trailed along behind the pair, tossing the keys to the cells from one hand to the opposite. Synnove watched the keys as best as she could, determined to find out where he kept them, Gibbons smirked at her knowing exactly what she was doing. Tossing the keys higher into the air, he teased the young woman, showing her a way to freedom which she could never hope to catch as he arms were still bound tightly and the fingernails of Stefan's hand dug deep holes into her flesh.

Stefan raised his leg and kicked the door to the brig open, causing a loud clattering thump to resonate through the dimly lit room.

The cell closest to the door was inhabited by the Osmosechu women, who were both huddled in the corner as far away from the door as possible. Yulia pushed her younger sister behind her and stood shakily on her feet, defiant, yet terrified. Antanasia was shaking as well, and sobbing quietly to herself in utter terror. Her small fingers clinging tightly to the back of her older sisters dress as she hid herself as best as she could from the cruel gaze of their captors. The cell next to theirs belonged to Groves and Gillette, both of whom moved closer to the Osmosechu women when they heard the door open. Their hands unconsciously went for their weapons, but they quickly remembered that they were defenceless. Although they had no means of defending themselves, they did not back down, just waiting for the former Captain of Stefan to come close enough to attack through the bars.

Opposite of their cell, against the wall James and Keys shared a cell. James was struggling to stand upright as the pain of his injuries reminded James that there was nothing he could do in the current situation. He had lifted the injured Keys onto the bench which doubled as a bed in order to make the brave beast more comfortable. When Keys laid eyes on Synnove struggling form, his tail twitched in acknowledgement, but he could not force himself to move. As Stefan stepped closer to the empty cell next to James, Keys began to growl, but still he did not move from his position lying on the bench. The dog was exhausted and beaten, but he had not lost his sense of loyalty. James watched silently as Stefan dragged Synnove along behind him.

Stefan's kept his tight grip on Synnove's arm as Gibbons unlocked the cell which would be her home for the night. He spun her forcefully and shoved her into the opened cell right next to the one that James and Keys shared, causing her to trip and land on her front in a crumpled heap onto the damp floor of the ship.

Gibbons let out a dark chuckle as he watched Synnove struggle against her bindings and her own awkwardness to stand and face the pair. She lunged at the pair with all of her might, but the door of the cell was slammed in her face and she was locked away inside.

"I will be back for you in the morning Grevinna Synnove," Stefan said, addressing the young woman with a mocking bow before sweeping elegantly from the room. Gibbons followed closely behind, with the same air of arrogance, but none of the elegance which Stefan commanded. For the briefest of moments Synnove thought she recognised something in Stefan's posture, but as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone one again.

Once the pair had left the brig, the tension drained from the room. Antanasia dropped to the floor, her remaining fighting spirit having been drained from her very bones. Yulia followed, sinking to the floor with her back against the bars of Groves and Gillette's cell. Groves sat with his back pressed against the same bars as Yulia, taking what little comfort to be had from one another. Gillette sprawled himself on the floor in a less than gentlemanly manner, staring at the patterns in the wooden ceiling. James moved to sit against the bars he shared with Synnove's cell and she moved closer to him to do the same. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, but she could also feel him shaking slightly. Synnove wanted desperately to turn to him and wrap her arms around James properly, without the bars serving as barriers, but there was no hope of that happening.

A silence descended on the captives as no one really had any idea of what to say, and even if they could think of something to say, that something would not exactly improve the moods of their fellow captives.

Slowly the others fell asleep until James and Synnove were the only two left awake, even Keys was snoring lightly on the bed that he had claimed as his own. Synnove could tell that James had not fallen asleep yet because every so often he would move slightly, trying to get more comfortable, but his injuries not cooperating with him. She could not find the courage to look him in the eyes, it was her fault that he was suffering, and it was always her fault that he underwent such turmoil. Yet James never complained, he was far too honourable to complain, or to blame her for anything that had happened. In fact, if she knew James as well as she thought she did, she knew that he would be blaming himself for everything that had happened. Synnove raised her bruised and cut face to look at James. She let out a gasp as she saw the heavily masked look of pain which was etched onto his face. His eyes were tightly closed, and to the untrained eye, he looked almost at peace, but the tension coming from his body was undeniable. She found herself unable to look away from his pained face, his pain was all her fault, she had no right to look away, no right to sleep when he could not.

James' eyes shot open and he watched Synnove studying his face intently, but she had not realised that he was watching her. He smiled faintly at her worried face, but the smile quickly faded once he noticed her lip was split and bleeding, much like his own, and that her jaw beginning to take on a dark purple colour as a bruise began to develop on her pale face.

James' hands pushed through the gaps in the bars and reached up to cup Synnove's face, instinctively she pulled away, but once her eyes met with James' she relaxed back into his grip.

"Oh James!" Synnove cried out in a whimper, reaching her own hands through the bars in an attempt to wind them around his waist and pull them closer together.

"I am fine Miss Synnove, just like I told you that I would be," a weak smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Tears escaped the corners of her eyes, regardless of how hard she fought to keep them inside, "I am so sorry for putting you through all of this," she whispered to him.

"None of this is your fault Miss Synnove," James whispered back to her.

"You heard Stefan, I am the one he has been looking for, so in a way this is my fault. If you had not been with me, you would have been safe James," Synnove said, staring straight into his green eyes, "I am responsible for that much at least."

"Did he hurt you after we were taken away?" James asked, his voice was low and full of barely hidden anger. He tried his best to steer the conversation away from the subject of guilt, a subject he knew far too well. He silently promised himself that as soon as he got the opportunity, he would make Stefan pay for touching Miss Synnove the way that he had. In James' opinion Stefan was worse than a pirate, and he certainly had no business touching any part of her. Stefan was far beneath Miss Synnove, and apparently so was he, but that was something he would have to deal with later.

"No," she replied, "he only touched me to drag me down the stairs, he spent the rest of his time speaking with Gibbons. They were too far away to hear what they were saying though, so I cannot provide any information there," Synnove said letting out a heavy sigh.

"Do you know why Stefan has been looking for you?" James asked.

"I have no idea James, I do not think that I have ever seen him before him in my life, but he seems to know me. I would surely remember such a man if I had ever encountered him before."

"Perhaps you knew him when you were younger? He seemed to know your Mother and her lineage well enough to seem genuine."

"That is a possibility, but surely I would remember him. I have always been able to remember faces and names," she replied.

"What about your necklace," James asked lowering one of his hands and pulling the chain which held the sapphire closer to his face so that he could see it better. It lay in the palm of his hand as he studied it, the tear shaped stone was brilliant, but it did not seem to be anything so important that it was worth killing over.

Synnove's hand made it way to rest on top of James' open palm, "I do not know about that either. Shortly before my Mother died, she gave me Tår av Havet and told me that it would keep me safe and I suppose that in a way it did," she said trailing off.

"What do you mean?"

"I am not really sure myself, to be honest. You see, my Mother did not die peacfully in her sleep like some are fortunate to do, she was murdered. One night, when Father was away on business our home was attacked. My older brother and I locked our younger siblings in the attic and went to help Mother fight the intruders off. I do not remember much about that night, where my memory should be, there is nothing but darkness. I remember holding a sword in my hands, and I remember seeing blood, there was also a blue light of some kind, but apart from that, I do not know what happened. When I woke up the next morning Mother was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor with a bullet wound between her eyes and her blood splattered around the walls and staining the wallpaper. My older brother, Sigurd, he never spoke again after that night. So I have no idea if he remembers anything more than what I do," Synnove said, finally revealing her most closely guarded secret.

"I am so sorry Miss Synnove," James said, wiping away a falling tear from her bruised cheek.

"Thank you James," she said giving him a small smile.

"Is is at all possible that Stefan and perhaps Gibbons as well, were amongst the intruders that night?" he asked as delicately as he could.

"I suppose it could be possible, but then why did he not simply take the Tår av Havet when he had the first chance?" Synnove replied.

"That is a good point, but if all he wants is your necklace, then why has he not killed us like he killed the others and be done with it already. Why is he dragging things out?" James asked.

"He has the eyes of a very cruel man James, perhaps he is enjoying every minute of it. The longer he leaves us here to wonder, the longer he can draw out our suffering," Synnove said morbidly.

James grunted in response, "well then, we shall just have to show him that we are stronger," he said. "But for now, I think we should try to get some sleep. Stefan said he would be coming for you in the morning and although I cannot stop him, I do not intend to let him take you so easily."  
"Please James, do not do anything to get yourself more injured then you already are!" Synnove pleaded.

"I promised to take care of you Miss Synnove, and that is exactly what I will do to the best of my ability. You can trust that I am a man of my word if nothing else."  
"I do trust you James, I just do not want to see you hurt for my sake," she said, more stray tears making tracks down her face.

"Shhhh," James said placing a finger to her lips, "we will get through this, we all will. We just have to stay strong."

"Alright," Synnove whispered back to James.

"Now sleep!" he commanded, his voice a little louder than it had been before.

"Yes Admiral Norrington!" Synnove replied, smiling widely at James and letting out a small giggle.

James smiled back at her and removed his hands from her face. As best as he could he reached his arms through the bars and pulled her closer to him. Synnove repeated his movements and wrapped her small arms around his waist. James' head rested against the bars and Synnove's did the same.

"Goodnight James," Synnove whispered.

"Goodnight Miss Synnove."


	38. Take It Out On Me

The next morning the captives were awoken by the clanging of the wooden door being thrown back against the wall. Stefan entered through the opened door and smirked as he was confronted with looks of fear from his female captives and looks of defiance and hatred coming from his male captives. Even the dog had decided to take part in the male anger and was snarling and growling at Stefan from his position lying on the bench. Stefan rolled his eyes at the antics of the beast whom he had easily beaten down, then his eyes trailed to where Synnove and Norrington were sleeping so closely, arms linked together through the bars. They were the only two who had not woken when Stefan made his entrance and part of him as disappointed that he missed the look of fear in Synnove's eyes once she realised that he had kept his word and that he was indeed coming for her early in the morning.

He snarled as he watched her chest rise and fall peacefully in her sleep, her necklace dangling from her neck and teasing him with its proximity. Although it was ultimately what he had come for, it was not his to take; it was not anyone's to take. That glittering blue stone had to be given in order for it to work properly, and Synnove had yet to be convinced that she needed to give it to Stefan. He let out a small snort of a laugh as he considered the fact that she might not even know the true value of the trinket attached around her neck. That would make it all the easier to obtain from her, if only he used the correct forms of persuasion. He was very good at persuasion after all, though not through the conventional methods used by his peers.

Gibbons shuffled in behind Stefan, his usual drunken stagger present as always. Gibbons reached beneath his shirt and pulled the keys to the cells off the piece of string that he had tied around his neck and handed the somewhat rusty keys to Stefan. Stefan snatched the keys from his companion and slipped them silently through the keyhole to Synnove's cell. Before anyone could utter a sound of warning Stefan had strode across the cell and buried his hand into Synnove's hair. He grabbed a tight handful of her hair and used it to wrench her body upwards.

Synnove awoke with a scream of pain as she felt herself being lifted from the floor by her long black hair. James' eyes shot open the second he heard Synnove's scream and he struggled to his own feet in an unconscious defensive movement. His hand instinctively went for his sword, but once again he was disappointed by his own lack of preparation.

"Remove your hands from her at once!" James shouted, attempting to keep a hold on Synnove in some manner.

Stefan raised an eyebrow at James, "I do not remember giving you permission to talk Norrington. It would seem you need a repeat of your earlier lesson," he said tightening his grip on Synnove's hair and dragging her away from the bars and away from James. "Gibbons!"

"Yes sir," the man slurred.

"Bring Herr Norrington here with you to the deck, he seems to have forgotten his place on this ship and it is my duty to remind him," he said, a vicious gleam in his eye.

"No!" Synnove cried in protest as she was dragged backwards out of the cell.

"I do not believe you have any say in the matter dear Grevinna," Stefan said.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" she retorted, concern for her own safety outweighed by her concern for James.

"I will do whatever I please," he replied, twisting his hand further into her hair and encouraging another scream of pain to escape from her lips. Stefan turned back to the swaying Gibbons, "now!" he shouted as he made his way out of the door and up the stairs dragging Synnove helplessly behind him.

As Gibbons opened the door to James' cell Keys made an attempt to attack the drunken man, but he was easily pushed away in his weakened state. James gave the dog a sympathetic look before slowly shuffling out of the cell and following the former Captain up the stairs.

James studied his surroundings frantically, looking for a way to overpower Gibbons and Stefan and take control of the ship. He was utterly disgusted with himself for being so easily captured, and the more he thought about what had happened the more disappointed he felt with his own actions, apparently his amount of self loathing had reached a new level. Synnove had been injured under his protection and he could never forgive himself for allowing such a thing to happen. She was so kind and sweet and James could not for figure out what anyone would wish to harm her. Every time he saw Stefan touch Synnove his blood boiled and he knew his anger was due to jealousy. As much as he had tried to stay away from Synnove and the dangers of falling for a woman he had promised to protect, he had fallen regardless. Whenever he thought of Synnove, he thought of her as being his, and when she turned and smiled at him, he felt for certain that she truly did belong with him. Synnove may be of noble blood and a far higher standing than he was, but he could not deny that he never wanted to reach Sweden if it meant that she would be taken away from and returned to her own world. As selfish as it was, he wished that Synnove's family would not want her back and that she would have no other choice but to return with him to England and become his wife. As soon as he allowed himself to think such thoughts, he was overcome with more feelings of disgust with himself. As her guardian James was supposed to help her and protect her, not think of ways in which he could force her to become his. He could dream such things, and he could even wish for such a future for himself and Synnove, but he knew when the time came, he would return her home and never look back. Looking back would be his downfall, looking back would be the end of what remained of his pride and sense of duty. But before anything like this could happen, he had to find a way to escape from his current prison without putting Synnove in more danger than she already was.

His eyes continued to dart around the levels of the ship as he followed his captor up the stairs. Try as he might, he could find no weak spot in the ship and no potential for escaping. Stefan possessed powers that had an amazing ability to cause pain and had the potential to destroy. Not knowing the extent of Stefan's strength left James at a great disadvantage and not knowing how much strength Gibbons possessed left James at an even greater disadvantage. Stefan and Gibbons effectively held all of the cards and all of the power leaving James and his companions in the worst position they had ever been in. James could not strike out against Stefan while he held possession of Synnove; he would not risk her safety no matter what. However, waiting until either Stefan or Gibbons let their guard down and taking the opportunity to overpower them was perhaps an even worse decision. They could go for days, perhaps even weeks before one of the pair let their guard slip and even then there was no guarantee that James, Gillette and Groves could overpower them even if they were weakened. There was even less of a guarantee that during that time the pair would keep away from their female captives. Antanasia was with child, so she may be safe, but then again, who really knew how devious and debauched their captors really were.

James could feel himself getting more desperate to come up with some sort of plan, but every plan James could think of was filled with flaws that he could easily point out to himself. His frustration was evident only to himself as he kept an impartial mask upon his face.

Gibbons turned back to face James and gave him a crooked smile, "you know you have no chance of escape Herr Norrington, so I would not bother trying to find one if I were you," he said.

James merely grunted in response, eager to catch up with Stefan and Synnove in order to attempt to ensure her safety.

Gibbons' smile turned to a sneer, "you know that Stefan intends to whip you within an inch of your life for showing such insolence before. I suppose I should feel guilty knowing what sort of excruciating pain you will endure, but I think I know what kind of man you are Herr Norrington. As long as that woman is alive you will fight for her and if that means taking a beating you will do so," Gibbons said with a strange look in his eyes, "but is she worth such a sacrifice Herr Norrington?"

James looked up at Gibbons, the man was no longer slurring drunkenly causing James to think that perhaps his alcoholism was all an act. James did not hesitate to give his response, "of course she is worth it," he said firmly.

"Then you will endure much suffering whilst on this ship Herr Norrington for Stefan has many plans for the young woman and ultimately, none of them will end happily for her or for you I am afraid," he said before turning away and resuming his usual staggering walk up the stairs.

James raised an eyebrow at the former Captains antics, but remained silent, his mind returning to contemplate means of escape from his current prison.

Stefan emerged onto the deck of the ship first and hauled Synnove along behind him. Her hair was still tightly gripped in his fingers and she was trying her hardest not to allow tears to slip out of her eyes as he twisted his fingers further into her hair and pulled harder to make her move faster. Stefan turned to Synnove and watched as she struggle along behind him, he rolled his eyes at her pathetic attempts not to show any signs of pain. Smirking to himself he wrenched her forwards and let go of her hair, tossing her across the deck. She lay on the wooden floor of the deck for a moment, blinking as her eyes got used to the intense light of the sunshine after spending such a long time below deck in the darkness. Before Synnove could struggle to her feet she felt a sharp kick being dealt to her ribs, she let out a small whimper of pain and attempted to stand again, but Stefan kicked her back down, a low laugh escaping his lips.

James emerged behind Gibbons on the deck just in time to see Synnove receive a third kick to the ribs. She was lying on her side, her arms cradling her body in a fruitless attempt to protect herself from another blow from Stefan. Before James could think his actions through properly he surged forwards, charging along the deck. He used all of his force to shove Stefan out of the way and dropped to his knees beside Synnove. She coughed violently, her body shaking as she tried to force herself to breathe properly despite the pain she was feeling. James offered her his hand and helped her to kneel in front of him where they were finally both the same height.

"Can you stand?" he asked her, forgetting for a second about the situation around them.

Before Synnove could answer James she heard a snap and James' grunt of pain. Looking behind him she saw Stefan standing tall, the same Cat o' nine tails whip in his hand. Stefan raised the whip and brought it back down upon James' back again, smirking as he watched the man force himself not to make a sound. Synnove made a move to push James down out of the way of the strokes of the whip but James would not be moved. His eyes met hers in a silent plea to let him take the beating.

"I do not remember telling you that you to talk Mr. Norrington," Stefan said with a sneer, "nor do I remember giving you permission to lay your unworthy hands upon our dear Grevinna Synnove." His words were accompanied by further snaps of the whip down upon James' back. His coat was torn to pieces as was the shirt he was wearing underneath. The whip made contact with his flesh leaving ugly slashes across his skin and turning his white shirt red with blood. The wounds that Stefan had inflicted just the night before had not had any time to heal and they too began to seep blood as James struggle not to make a sound.

Small pale hands made their way to James' face forcing him to look up from the deck he had been concentrating upon in order to distract himself from Stefan's actions. James smiled weakly at Synnove, but the gesture soon turned into a grimace of pain as the whip continued to reign down upon his exposed flesh. James refused to turn and fight back against Stefan because as long as he was in front of Synnove she was safe, and that was all that he cared about. His eyes rolled back in his head as Stefan struck a particularly painful spot with his whip and he barely managed to hold back the scream of pain he could feel building up in his throat. Synnove shuffled closer to James and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to comfort him in some way as Stefan continued his tirade. James allowed his head to drop slightly and rest against her shoulder.

All the while Stefan repeated his actions, yelling at James in a language no one else on board could understand. He was punishing James for daring to disobey his orders after he had so graciously allowed him to live. But Stefan was also taking out his frustration on James, and his deeply buried hatred. He wished that it was Synnove that he was beating so harshly, but his Master wanted the girl alive. No matter what sort of twisted revenge Stefan wanted, he had to follow his Master's orders. Once his Master had finished their task, then Stefan was allowed to do whatever he wished with the girl, but for now, he had to play by the rules and keep her safe. Or at least as safe as would allow his Master to still be able to use the girl for whatever purpose she was required.

Panting and out of breath Stefan abruptly stopped his actions. He sneered as he saw the way Synnove was clinging tightly to the man she hoped would save her. Norrington would be dead long before the journey was over, he would see to that matter personally. Stefan would force Synnove to watch as he murdered Norrington, but now was not the time for such actions, he still had to bide his time.

Stefan snapped his fingers and again the black ropes appeared in mid air. They wound around James' body and hauled him into a standing position, wrenching him out of Synnove's grasp. Synnove rose to her feet, making sure that she stood between Stefan and James' vulnerable body.

"Synnove, please do not stand there," James said, loud enough so that only she could hear his whispered words.

"I will not let him hurt you anymore James, I will not step aside," she whispered back in reply.

"I think you have learnt your lesson for now Mr. Norrington," Stefan said, smiling at James and running his hands through his hair in a casual manner, as if only moments ago had never happened.

Stefan took a step forwards towards Synnove and she took a step backwards, pressing her back against James' chest.

She spread her arms wide in a protective gesture and said "You stay away from him!"

Stefan snorted, "I am finished with him for the moment, it is your turn my dear, sweet child." He took another step forwards, but Synnove held her ground, determined not to show Stefan that she was weak. Before her very eyes the soft skin of his face began to ripple and age. Wrinkles appeared around the corners of his eyes and his frown lines became emphasised. His blonde hair grew longer and turned silver from the roots, changing colour as it grew out. A scar began to appear over his left eye and his once tall posture stooped slightly as his transformation completed.

Once the process was complete Stefan raised his eyes to meet Synnove's and he smirked as obvious recognition washed over her face.

"You!" she shrieked, "it was you all this time!"

"Yes my dear Grevinna, tell me now that you now it is me, do you still wish to stand in front you Mr. Norrington, or would you prefer to cower behind him the same way you used to cower behind your Mother?"

"I will never cower from you again! I was a scared child then, but I am not afraid of you now!"

"You should be my dear Grevinna, because this time you will not escape. You Mother may have been able to bargain for your life the night that she died," Stefan paused watching the expression on her face change. "Oh yes dear one, I was there that night. But she is not here this time, and you have nothing that I want that I cannot procure from another nameless woman when I reach the shore," he said his eyes unashamedly trailing her body.

"You were the one who killed her aren't you?" Synnove asked in a whimper, already sure that she knew the answer, but needing it confirmed anyway.

"Yes my dear one. I still remember the look on her face when she realised I was the one who would kill her."

"You were her advisor, her closest friend. I called you Uncle! Mother trusted you!" Synnove exclaimed. James remained silent behind her, if he could have moved he would have wrapped his arms around her and comforted her. But the black ropes held him so tightly and he could feel himself going weak from the loss of blood. His back ached and he wanted nothing more than to rest, but he would not, he could not leave her alone even for an instant.

"Antonetta trusted me, but she never loved me!" Stefan exclaimed. "She fell in love with that extravagant Finnish fool Balthazar. She never gave me, her oldest friend and dearest friend as she liked to call me, a second look once your Father appeared. She was supposed to love me, but she didn't, so she had to pay. All those years I stood by her side, smiling at her as her family grew and I became less and less important to her. She needed to feel the same pain I felt every time I saw her smile at that fool. I wanted so desperately to slaughter your little brothers in front of her, but I satisfied myself with forcing her to beg for mercy. I made her beg for your lives and I loved every moment of it! Fortunately, there was a bonus for me, besides revenge of course, my Master needed her dead, the same Master who wants you my dear Grevinna."

"You are a monster!"

"I was made this way by your Mother!" Stefan turned his attention to James, "if men are the monsters then women are the ones who make them so. When I finally kill Grevinna Synnove you may want to thank me Mr. Norrington, think of it as me saving you from feeling such heart wrenching pain."

"Don't you dare hurt her Stefan, Synnove is innocent!" James said struggling against the ropes.

"Relax Norrington, I will not kill her until my Master is finished with her and by then she will welcome death with open arms. It will be more of a mercy killing than anything else. But you need not worry, you will be long dead before that ever happens," Stefan said smirking at the stunned look on Synnove's face.

Stefan turned away from the pair and walked back to where Gibbons was standing. "I think that we are done here for now Gibbons, return them to their cells," Stefan said waving a dismissive hand in their direction.

"As you wish," Gibbons said. He grabbed the ropes which held Norrington suspended in the air and dragged him along behind him. He pushed Synnove out in front and trudged back down the stairs to the darkness of the belly of the ship.

* * *

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Norrieo: My favourite PotC would have to be number 2. Part 3 is out of the running for obvious reasons and Part 1 doesn't have any Beckett in it. So 2 would have to be the best as far as I am concerned :D


	39. Eye Of The Storm

Early the next morning, not long after the first light had crested over the horizon, Stefan stood pacing the deck. He squinted at the light whenever it caught his eye and surveyed the ocean before him. He was fortunate that the _Engel Lied_ had not run into any pirates so far on their journey. His impressive display of power, which he had used to show Synnove and his captives just how futile an attempt at escape was, had left him almost completely drained. Stefan ran a hand over his face, tracing the line of the scar over his eye. The power he had gained from his Master had cost him sight in his scarred eye, but that power was limited, incredibly limited. He had over exerted himself and was now largely powerless to do anything to stop a potential rebellion, or an attack from pirates. His captives did not need to know how vulnerable he was at this point, but if they saw even the smallest hint, he knew his mission would be over and his Master would not be so forgiving as to allow him to live. He needed more power, if only a temporary loan to tide him over until he recovered properly. He would have to beg, but it would be worth it.

Gibbons was half way between passed out drunk and asleep, so Stefan did not have to worry about the former Captain interfering with his business or eavesdropping. As long as the man was paid, there was little about the plan that he cared about. While Gibbons did understand parts of the major plan, he knew nothing about Stefan's Master and Stefan wished to keep things that way for as long as possible. Gibbons was a rational man, despite being a drunkard and he only believed that which he could see with his own eyes and the less he knew, the easier it would be for Stefan to complete his mission.

Stefan surveyed the deck one more time before reaching his hand into the pocket of his long dark brown coat. He listened carefully to the sounds around him, when he was sure that only the ocean was listening, and that he was completely alone he brought a small hand mirror out of his pocket. He removed the white silk he had wrapped tightly around the precious object. The small mirror was ornately decorated, with swirling edges reminiscent of ocean ways bordering it and the back panel was covered with a small painting of a palace sculpted out of ice. The reflective surface of the mirror showed only his aged and scarred face, he brought his hand slowly down upon the surface and felt it ripple beneath his fingers. Stefan kept his eyes closed as he concentrated on silently calling his Master with his mind.

He felt cold fingers meet with his on the other side of the mirror and he knew his call had been answered. He removed his hand and brought the mirror up to his face, finally opening his eyes so that he could talk face to face with his Master. The one who had promised him so much, the only reason he had for continuing on.

Pitch black eyes starred back at him, partially obscured by long blonde hair. The hair moved on its own accord and seemed to resemble seaweed more than actual human hair. Stefan watched his Master's hair move delicately, captivation him for a moment before he shook himself out of his apparent trance. The skin of the face starring at him was tinted a light blue colour and his Master's lips curled into a vicious smile. The sort of smile which Stefan had learnt to imitate in order to strike fear into the various captives he had sought out during his years. The face that was staring back at him belonged to a beautiful, young looking woman, whose eyes showed no hint of mercy or compassion whatsoever.

"My Lady, everything is going according to plan," Stefan reported.

A distorted female voice responded immediately, "I already know this Stefan, what is it that your truly want?"

"I have been greatly weakened during the capture and restraint of the passengers. My Lady, I beg of you to give me more strength," Stefan asked of his Master.

"You know I cannot do that Stefan. I gave you all that I could spare, that is why I sent you on this mission in the first place. I trusted that you would be able to fulfil this task properly, are you suggesting that you are incapable?" the distorted female voice questioned.

"Of course not My Lady, I am more than capable of fulfilling my promise to you."

"Then you do not need any more power," the black eyed woman responded, "in future Stefan, do not waste my time and energy with such useless requests. There are many more than just you out there that would be willing to complete your mission should you fail. Do not think that you are so precious that you too could not become expendable."

"Yes My Lady, I understand completely. Forgive me for my intrusion," Stefan apologized.

"You are forgiven, this time," the female said, "tell me Stefan, is she like her dear Mother?"

"Grevinna Synnove is as beautiful and rebellious as her Mother, and equally as strong willed I believe. However, I do not think that she understands the full extent of just what she can do. The necklace was passed to her only a day before the attack, she knows little, if nothing about what it is capable of."

"Then she is of no threat to you," the woman concluded.

"It would appear so My Lady."

"Good, the next time you make contact with me will be when you are only a day away from your final destination. I expect that by then you will have disposed the extras."

"Of course My Lady, they will not survive for much longer. I promise you," Stefan replied.

"Excellent. Also, remove our precious cargo from the brig Stefan, it is no place for one such as her."

"Yes My Lady. Is there anything else you wish to be done?"

"No Stefan, this will suffice for now. Take pleasure in the favourable winds, I do not like being kept waiting and with each day that passes I can feel a hostile power moving closer."

Stefan nodded in response, closing his eyes for a brief moment, committing his orders to memory. When he next opened his eyes his Master had disappeared from the reflection in the mirror. Once he was certain that she was gone he wrapped the mirror back up in the white silk and deposited it in his pocket.

Stefan stormed down the stairs and banged on Gibbons' door. He commanded that the man rise up now and bring James and Synnove to the deck, just like the day before.

He would keep Synnove in her quarters from now on, it was something he did not wish to risk, but he had been ordered to do so, so he would not disobey his Master. She had a certain ability which would allow her to know instantly if Stefan had dared to defy her orders.

Sometime later both James and Synnove were taken from their cells and dragged onto the deck to face whatever Stefan had in store for them.

James struggled to remain standing upright as the lacerations that decorated his back made it impossible to move with causing him some pain. Each movement he made helped to reopen the majority of the partially healed wounds. Synnove could not see him struggling, for his face was an unreadable mask. James truly did have a talent for masking his pain, so much so that sometimes he even managed to fool himself into thinking his pain did not exist.

Gibbons hardly paid the pair any attention as he clutched his aching head in one hand and forcing himself to walk straight by leaning partially against the wall will his other hand.

Synnove was once again bound in place by the thick black ropes Stefan summoned. James was bound as well and hauled forth, subjected to another beating from Stefan's Cat o' Ninetails whip.

The man gave no explanation for his actions; he remained silent as he brought his whip down on James' vulnerable flesh. Synnove screamed and yelled at Stefan in protest, but he simply smiled in reply and continued on as if what he was doing was completely normal. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched on, completely helpless to do anything to stop him and save James. Stefan smiled as he continued his actions, he was doing just what he had promised to do. He was forcing Synnove to feel the same pain that he had felt at the hand of her Mother. There was something to be said about watching a woman cry, there was nothing quite like it, nothing that could have made him feel so close to happiness. Synnove was crying for Norrington like he had cried for Antonetta and it made Stefan feel wonderful.

James attempted to reassure Synnove that he was alright, but his words died in his throat before he could speak them. Instead he forced his eyes to met hers and he held her gaze for as long as he could before his pain forced him to look away, lest Synnove see weakness in his eyes. That was the one thing he would never allow her to see.

Soon Stefan got bored with torturing James, he waved a silent hand at Gibbons, instructing the man to take James only away.

Without another word from Stefan James was hauled slowly away from Synnove, his feet dragging slightly along the deck as James forced himself to stand as upright as he possibly could. It took James only a second to realise that Synnove was not being brought back down the brig along with him and the weakness he had been feeling before slipped away.

James fought against Gibbons, "why is Miss Synnove not coming as well?" he demanded.

"My dear Grevinna will be staying in her old quarters, below deck is no place for a woman such as her, you should have realised that Norrington," Stefan said, nonchalantly picking the dirt from under his fingernails.

After hearing this James began to struggle more again Gibbons' hold and the hold of the ropes, but to no avail. Gibbons raised his pistol and smacked James on the back of the head with the blunt instrument, knocking him out instantly

James was dragged below deck back to the brig to the sound of Synnove crying out his name in vain.

Later that night, Synnove lay completely still in her cold bed. Her fingers tangled into the sheets and she ripped at them with her fingernails, anything to keep her mind occupied. She had tried to fall asleep, but the guilt of knowing that she was relatively safe in her own room, whilst James and the others were suffering below kept her wide awake. She wished more than anything that she could be down there with them all, if only so that she did not feel so trapped and alone. Synnove promised herself that she would not cry any more that day, her tears got her nowhere, and her tears did not save everyone from this mess they were now in. She rolled over taking her pillow into her arms and holding it tightly and burying her face in it. Synnove wished it was James she was holding onto this tightly, he always made her feel so much better, but he was below deck in the brig, suffering, and it was all her fault.

She wondered how well Gillette was dealing with the lack of food Stefan had been providing them with, a smile crossing her face as she thought of all the complaining he would do once he was free. For certain no one else would get anywhere near the food once he was set free, unless of course they did not value their fingers being intact once they were done.

Synnove worried about how poor Antanasia and Yulia were dealing with everything. Seeing their own Mother murdered so callously was sure to leave a lasting imprint on their minds. Now the sisters were orphans and they had nowhere to go. They had been relying on their Mother to find them safe passage back to their former home in Romania, and now, without the older woman to guide them, they would have no idea where to go. Even if they did have any ideas, Antanasia's condition would be noticed immediately. The poor girl would spend the rest of her life an orphan outcast with a child of her own to look after. Synnove knew that Yulia would never leave her dear little sister, which would in turn make life even more difficult for the pair. At that moment Synnove made a decision, she would take the Osmosechu sisters back home with her. She could think of an excuse for allowing them to live with her closer to the time, for now she was content with offering them a home. Once her Father heard their story he would not be as unkind as to turn them away, he was a lot of things, but he was not a cruel man, Stefan could never convince her otherwise.

Next Synnove's mind drifted to the honourable Mr. Groves, she did not know him as well as she knew Gillette, even though they had both appeared at the same time. Groves was a quiet man, much like James at time, but he had a mischievous streak like Gillette. The three of them resembled brothers more than superiors and subordinates most of the time, but she could tell, Groves looked to James as a sort of guiding force. Yulia had certainly taking a liking to Groves and Synnove could not help but wish that Groves could return the feeling. They would most definitely make a sweet couple, Synnove thought to herself, smiling into the darkness. Once they were free, she would see to finding a way to push them together.

Then she thought of Keys, her ferocious four-legged companion. The poor dog had been injured just as badly as James had been and yet he still attempted to charge at their captors. Even the dog had done more to fight against Stefan than she had done, Synnove shook her head, disgusted with herself and how infernally weak she was.

Finally she allowed her thoughts to drift back to James Norrington, the man who had saved her so many times, and was now in even more danger because of her. Every time that Stefan had James dragged upstairs and beaten she wished that Stefan was beating her instead, anything to save James from such pain that he did not deserve. She marvelled at how James was able to stand there and take the beating without a single cry of pain, but she was also horrified by it. It made her wonder just what other sorts of things the poor man had been subjected to during his life that forced him to always be so stoic and strong. Synnove was thankful for his strength, but she could not help but think that such strength masked something much deeper and what exactly was the small hint of darkness in his green eyes. The more she thought about James, the sooner she came to a certain realisation. She had, of course, realised a long time ago that she was deeply fond of James Norrington, but until now she had tried her hardest to push feelings of love away. However, she could hide from her feelings no longer; she was in love with James Norrington.

Her eyes widened in the darkness as she came to the conclusion that as soon as they were all safe and far away from Stefan, she would tell James just how much she truly loved him.

Even if he rejected her, she would tell him. Synnove would let James know that she loved him, completely, utterly and unconditionally. She wanted James to be hers.

With those final thoughts she fell to sleep, a smile on her lips.

The next morning Synnove was unceremoniously awoken by Gibbons yelling and banging on her door. No sooner than Synnove had thrown it open, Gibbons latched his arms around Synnove's waist, half carrying and half dragging the young woman up the stairs to meet with Stefan. She bucked and kicked against his grip trying to claw at his skin and force him to let her go. She just wanted to be taken to where James was, to make sure that he was still alive after all that Stefan had put him through. Synnove did not want to be anywhere near the former Captain or Stefan, she just wanted to be with James, wherever he had been taken. Angry tears fell down her face and she thrashed around, throwing her head backwards to connect with Gibbons' nose. The man let out a yelp of pain and dropped Synnove to the floor and he clutched his now bleeding nose. As quickly as she could move Synnove whirled around, her small hands darting around to find the gun he kept at his side. Finally wrapping her hands around the pistol she tugged at it to loosen it from its holder and kicked at Gibbons at the same time to set it free.

Gibbons raised his head, eyes wide with fear as he found Synnove pointing his own pistol to the middle of his forehead. Synnove's finger was on the trigger, but her hand was shaking uncontrollably with fear. This man may have caused her a lot of pain, but she could not bring herself to kill him, Stefan on the other hand would be less of a moral dilemma for her.

Synnove turned from the cowering Gibbons and charged up the stairs to find Stefan, she would show him no mercy, even if he begged. She found him standing in the middle of the deck, simply starring into space as if he did not have a care in the world. Her upper lip curled into a snarl as she watched him from afar. Synnove raised the pistol, aimed at his head and pulled the trigger.

The black ropes which Stefan had employed before to do his dirty work meshed together and formed a shield in front of him, instantly deflecting the bullet.

"Did you honestly think that would work dear Grevinna?" Stefan asked mockingly as he moved across the deck, coming closer to Synnove.

Synnove stayed silent, raising the pistol and shooting at him once again, hoping for some sort of miracle that would kill this monster of a man and let her be free.

Again Stefan deflected the bullet, smirking at Synnove and shaking his head at her, "second time lucky does not apply in this circumstance my dear." Gibbons came running up the stairs once he heard the gunshots, terrified that somehow his boss and employer had been mortally wounded.

Synnove was thrown into a panic, Stefan refused to be killed and now Gibbons was on deck as well. They could easily overpower her and this desperate attempt at freedom would have been for nothing. The pair moved closer towards Synnove, forcing her to take a step back, she was quickly running out of room and out of ideas when she was finally struck by genius. Synnove lifted the pistol to the temple of her own head, cocking it so that they could all hear the click. Her movements forced Gibbons and Stefan to stop in their tracks, eyes focused on Synnove and the gun she was holding.

"What are you doing dear Grevinna?"

"Holding myself hostage!" she declared, "In order for you to fulfil whatever obligations you have to your Master, you need me alive am I correct?"

"Yes," Stefan replied through gritted teeth.

""Well then, I have demands which you will need to fulfil in order for me to put this gun down!"

"What are your demands then?" Gibbons asked.

"I want everyone in the brig to be given full meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, everyday," Synnove said.

"Is there anything else?" Stefan asked.

"Yes," Synnove said, "I want to be allowed to treat James' wounds."

"Out of the question," Stefan replied.

"Is that so?" Synnove said, inclining her head towards to gun she was still holding firmly in place.

Stefan grumbled, "why do you have such an interest in this Norrington man? I have seen many better men in my lifetime, is it because he is your hero? Is he your knight in shining armour my dear Grevinna?"

"If James dies because of his injuries then you have nothing to hold over me! He is the only thing you have that will ensure my cooperation with whatever it is you have planned,"

Stefan and Gibbons exchanged looks with one another before silently coming to their conclusion, "we will allow you to tend to his more serious injuries," Stefan said with a vicious glint in his eyes. He was after all, the one who had inflicted such injuries on James in the first place and he certainly was not going to apologise for his actions.

"But then he will return to the brig, whilst you remain with secluded in your quarters," Gibbons said.

"If you even think of escaping or doing something else foolish, you can be assured that your friends will pay the price for your actions. I have been merciful thus far, but they are wasting precious resources and soon they will have to be cut free," Stefan paused, "literally," he said drawing his finger across his throat in a threatening motion.

"Do we make ourselves clear pet?" Gibbons said leering at Synnove.

"Perfectly, now bring me to James!"

"Follow me then pet," the Captain said leading her out of his office.

* * *

Please leave a review! Just so I know you still enjoy Serendipity (my insecurities are showing).  
The next chapter will include something I am sure you have been waiting a while for – but I'm not telling what, just yet :D


	40. This World Forever

Synnove carried a basin of hot water from the bathroom back to her bedroom with Gibbons walking closely behind her, his eyes following her every move lest she do something stupid and attempt to make an escape from her current predicament. She was aware of just how closely Gibbons was trailing her, but she was no longer afraid of the old German man, he was largely harmless and did at times show her kindness, Stefan on the other hand was no such man. Stefan had only agreed to let her tend to James' wounds because he knew she would not cooperate with him if James were to die, but that did not mean that Stefan would desist from harming James any chance that he got.

Synnove shuddered as she remembered how Stefan had tied James' arms to the rafters of the ship, making sure that he could not move, before bringing down his whip upon James' exposed flesh. He never screamed or uttered a word of his pain. James' silence only served to make the memory of the sound of the whip stripping his flesh from his back even more vivid. If Synnove closed her eyes, she could still see the whip coming down upon him. Often at night she would wake up crying at the memory of James torture that she had witnessed, only to fall back into nightmares of nets and the crushing black ocean depths below. It felt as though Synnove was slowly coming apart at the seams, but she knew she had no right to fall apart when James and the others were suffering far worse than she below deck.

James slowly made his way down the hall to Synnove's room. Stefan followed silently along behind James, watching him carefully in case the taller man decided to make a break for it, or turn against him and try to make an escape. Not that James had any credible chance of escape, due to his greatly weakened state. Stefan smirked as he admired the impact his handiwork with a whip had left across James' back. From his position following James, Stefan could clearly see the way that James walked with a slight lean to one side, obviously due to the pain of one of his injuries and he could also see that the back of James' shirt had been stained dark red with his own dried blood.

The closer that he came to Synnove's door the more James forced himself to stand tall, but as soon as Synnove stepped out into the hall to meet him, she could see his legs shaking under his own weight and the slow manner in which he made his way closer. Synnove and James both ignored Stefan's presence as she lightly tugged on his sleeve and pulled him gently into her room.

"Oh James!" Synnove cried out in horror as she looked at his bruised face, split lip and tired green eyes.

He gave her a weak half-smile in silent reply; he could not trust his voice not to waver at the sight of her concerned face.

Before Synnove could stop herself she had darted forward and wrapped one arm around his waist as gently as she could, though James still grunted in pain at her movements, while she raised the other hand to caress his bruised cheek, "I am so sorry, so, so, sorry," she whispered into his chest, where she was currently burying her face.

James returned her embrace, his arms placed tightly around her waist and his head resting on top of hers. He closed his eyes in an attempt to stifle his pain, but found that it was ultimately a useless endeavour. The only thing that made him feel any better was the fact that Synnove appeared not to have suffered any further under Stefan's heavy hand, despite the vicious way he had seen Stefan slap her across the face, while he had been held down, only a few days previously.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Miss Synnove; none of this is your fault."

Her deep blue eyes looked up at him in astonishment, some part of Synnove expected that James would be furious at her and that he would immediately push her away. But James was acting the way he always acted towards her, showing only kindness and care, even when he was the one who was injured. Synnove clung tighter to the material of his clothing and the pair stared at one another in silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Now isn't this touching," Stefan said mockingly, appearing in the doorway of Synnove's bedroom.

James turned around quickly, ignoring the pain that it caused him to do so and pushed Synnove behind him, shielding her from the man's wandering and cruel gaze, "what do you want?" James sneered.

Stefan rolled his eyes at James, "please Norrington, do not think that even for a second that you are any sort of threat to me. If I wanted to I could rip the girl from behind you and have my fill of her while you would be powerless to stop me," he paused leaning against the doorway in a causal manner, "as it turns out, that is not what my Master has planned for her. However, should that situation change in the near future, you will be completely powerless to come to her rescue as weak as you are now you can barely stand," he turned his vicious glare to Synnove saying, "clean up this mess you call a man and do so quickly." Stefan threw clean bandages onto the bed and left the room, slamming the door and locking it behind him.

A whimper escaped from Synnove's lips after Stefan was clearly gone, the tension having drained out of her, along with much of her earlier courage.

"He is wrong Miss Synnove, I will never allow him to harm you, no matter what it costs," James said firmly, feeling some of his strength returning with each word. He turned around to face Synnove and saw tears brimming in the corners of her vivid watery blue eyes.

"Please do not say such things James, your life is more important to me than anything else. If you keep on pushing yourself and getting hurt like this for my sake there will be nothing of you left," she looked straight up at him, "you need to rest!"

"I promised that I would look after you Miss Synnove, I can rest when I die."

"Do you not fear death?" she asked, not knowing that her words were almost identical to ones which had been uttered to him before.

James shook his head, "not if I die for a worthy cause," he said cupping her chin with his rough calloused fingers, "and you are such a cause."

"I will not let you die for me James. Never ever."

James caressed her soft cheek with his fingers, his eyes slowly closing over. If he were completely honest with himself he could not recall a time when someone had showed him that they cared for him, let alone that they cared for him this much. Elizabeth Swann had certainly never cared for him, he knew that for certain now. In fact, he doubted that she had ever even given him a second thought once she was through with him. Not that he thought Elizabeth was a cold, cruel woman, he just knew her heart lay in an altogether different place to his and he was glad that he could understand that now. Synnove was an entirely different story altogether. She could promise all that she wanted that she would not let him die, but he knew that if push came to shove, he would be the one to lay down his life for her so that she could live on. He could not bear to see anything bad happen to his Synnove, even if she was not truly his.

"James, please let me take care of you," Synnove pleaded.

"I am fine Miss Synnove," James stated, not about to show any sort of weakness after just promising strength.

"Do not lie to me, your shirt is red with your blood and nothing about that could ever be fine," she said sadly, "now take your shirt off and sit down on the bed so that I can clean you up," Synnove commanded in a forceful voice that she did not truly know that she possessed.

James' eyes shot open, "I will do it myself."

"Do not be absurd, you cannot reach. Women are supposed to be the ones who are modest, not you."

He smiled down at her, tears were no longer threatening to spill from her eyes, "turn around first."

Synnove raised an eyebrow at him and let out a dramatic sigh, "fine then," she said, but still did not turn around.

"Close your eyes as well!" he demanded.

"How am I to help you if I cannot see you?" Synnove argued, "your ideas about propriety have many flaws James."

He considered her statement for a few moments running his thumb along her jaw line, "I suppose in some cases you are correct, but you will still need to turn around."

Synnove turned away from him, incredibly reluctantly, and faced the door Stefan had locked earlier. Part of her wished there was some sort of mirror in the room so that she could see that James looked like when he was completely shirtless, but she did not want to do anything that would betray his sense of propriety so she stayed still. Synnove was sure she spent more time hating the rules of propriety than she did enjoying their alleged benefits, the longer she spent around James, the more sure she became about that fact.

James struggled to pull the loose shirt over his head. His arms ached as he lifted them up and he could feel some of the shallower cuts reopening as he moved around. Synnove heard him wince and hold his breath as the material was pulled from his open wounds. James slowly made his way over to the bed, but instead of sitting on it as Synnove had ordered, he lay face down and clung tightly to her pillow, bracing himself for the pain he knew would be coming.

"You may turn around now," said his muffled voice.

James' broad strong back was a mess of violent cuts and slashes. Some were only light cuts, barely breaking the surface of the skin, while most were deep and wide and still seeping blood. None showed any signs of healing as Stefan made sure to repeat his brutal punished each day, forcing Synnove to watch as James was tortured in front of her. Synnove bit her lip to hold back her tears at the horrific sight as she lowered herself to sit next to James on the bed. "Oh darling," she whimpered almost silently.

James turned slightly on his side and reached his hand back to meet Synnove's as he laced their fingers together in silent response. Tears which had been chased away earlier were now flowing freely down her face, "if you keep crying like that Miss Synnove you will not be able to see what you are doing."

"I cannot help myself," she said between sobs.

James squeezed her hand in his, "you are a strong young woman Miss Synnove, so of course you can do this. I would not trust my care to anyone else."

She nodded and smiled at James, "alright, this is going to hurt as I am sure you are aware. But I will go as quickly as possible."

"I am ready when you are Miss Synnove," James said giving her fingers a final squeeze before removing his hand from hers.

Synnove dipped the cloth in the basin of semi-warm water she had brought with her earlier. The water had been mixed with alcohol in order to clean and disinfect the wounds properly, though Gibbons had not been all that impressed with having to part with some of his best alcohol. She knew the mixture would sting something terrible, but it was a much better solution than ignoring the wounds and allowing them to get infected and fester.

"I am going to start now James."

He grunted in reply and braced himself for the inevitable.

A warm wet cloth made contact with his abused skin, and at first it made James relax, but the pleasant sensation did not last for long. As Synnove cleaned his wounds the only sound which came from James were grunts of pain. He did not cry out and he did not complain at all as the cloth removed the dried blood from his skin and cleaned the open wounds. Synnove on the other hand was forcing back her tears by biting her lip so hard that she was sure it would be bleeding by now.

When she was sure that she had cleaned his wounds to the best of her ability she set the cloth and the basin aside. The clear water of the basin was now stained red with blood, as was the cloth she had used. Next she picked up a towel and gently dabbed at his back, drying the water and some of the blood up for the time being.

"I need you to sit up now so that I can wrap the bandages around you," she said quietly next to his ear, "for the sake of your prized propriety, you should face the wall and I suppose I shall be turning around until you get yourself sorted properly."

"Very funny Miss Synnove," James said, his voice still muffled by the pillow.

Behind her she could hear the rustling of her bedcovers as James rearranged himself comfortably on the bed. When she turned back around again she saw that he was sitting cross-legged on the bed with his head resting in his hands.

"Does your head hurt James?"  
"No Miss Synnove, I am just tired," James replied.

Synnove stepped up closely behind James and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, being careful to keep the rest of her body away from making contact with his back. "I wish I could convince Stefan to let you stay here with me longer."

"Do not be upset Miss Synnove, just this is more than I expected from that monster of man," James said, wishing that he would never have to leave her and return to the cells. "You know, the sooner we get this finished, the more likely I will be able to get a few moments of sleep before Stefan comes back."

"Alright," Synnove nodded, she withdrew her arms from around his neck and grabbed the bandage from the bed where Stefan had thrown it. She reached back around to James' chest and placed one end of the bandage over his heart, judging that as being the correct place to begin. "I need you to hold this steady while I wrap the rest around you," she said, her lips close enough to his ear that he could feel her breathing. James closed his eyes and nodded in response as he held the end of the bandage in place, just over his heart. He was glad that Synnove could not see where her hand had been placed just moments before. He had after all, been stabbed through the heart by that strange half-man with a starfish growing on his face and although the wound had somehow healed itself when he had been in Davey Jones' Locker, a rather unpleasant looking scar remained as a constant reminder of where he had been. James never liked to look at the scar for too long because after a while he could swear that he could feel the blade re-entering his body and he would shudder, instantly feeling ice cold and dead. He shuddered at the memories now intruding upon his thoughts, a shudder which did not go unnoticed by Synnove.

Synnove gently and carefully wrapped the bandage around and around his torso, her long gentle fingers brushing against his chest from time to time as she passed the bandage from one hand to the other. When she felt him shudder she only paused for a second before continuing one and once she was finished she found a couple of pins to hold the bandages securely in place. James was no longer bleeding, but he was by no means on the mend. Synnove knew that tomorrow morning Stefan would come along and destroy all of the hard work she had just completed and cause James further pain for no reason other than pure cruelty. She ran a gentle hand across his shoulders and down his bandaged back, checking that everything was in place and that nothing was too tight or too loose on him.

"I am done now James," she said. As she had been piecing him back together she had finally made her mind up, today was going to be the day that she told James exactly what he meant to her, she simply could not hold her words in any longer, he had to know.

"Thank you Miss Synnove," he said turning around on the bed and placing his booted feet back down on the floor. He still looked terribly tired and his face still had dried blood sticking to it. Synnove reached for the basin and cloth which she had discarded earlier. She rinsed the bloodied water from the cloth and dropped to her knees in front of James. She moved forwards as best as she could with her dress restricting her and soon she was close enough that she was at the same height as James and could reach his face perfectly. His tired eyes met with hers and he raised an eyebrow at her actions, she was far too close, kneeling between his legs and cupping his face in her soft pale hands, but he could not find the strength to push her away and keep insisting on following the rules dictated by propriety.

The cloth was cold as it was wiped across his forehead and the rest of his face, but it was the kind of cold which James was thankful for as it kept him from falling asleep. Synnove was staring up at him with her strangely moving blue eyes, her eyes never leaving his face as she continued to wipe the dried blood and dirt from him. James was absolutely silent, not wanting to say or do anything that would make her leave his proximity, he had never had the full attention of a woman in such a way before and he was not about to do anything to change that.

With the blood and dirt now gone from his face and the basin placed back where she had retrieved it from, there was no more reason for Synnove to stay so close to James, they both knew that. All reason suggested that she should move far away from him and insist that he get some sleep, but she could not make her legs move and it appeared that James did not want her to move either.

James opened his arms to Synnove and silently gestured to her to come closer. Synnove moved forward into his open arms and nuzzled her face into his neck, now was the time she had decided. "James, there is something that I have to tell you, something very important," she paused for a moment before adding, "I do not know how you will take what I am about to say, but I simply cannot hold my tongue any longer."

James' arms tightened around her, his mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. The sort of conclusion in which she had fallen madly in love with Stefan and that the pair were going to feed him to the creatures of the deep and sail off into the sunset together. He looked could not see her face and every second that she did not continue on with what she had to say caused James to worry even more. "What is it that you need to say?"

Synnove kept her arms around James' neck but she moved so that she was staring straight into James' emerald green eyes.

"I love you James Norrington," Synnove said, "and I have loved you for a very long time now."

James simply blinked in response, as if his mind could not comprehend a word that she had just said. All of the words he wanted to say would not come out of his mouth and every second that he remained silent felt like an eternity to Synnove who was shaking now, out of fear for what his silence could mean.

"You do not have to say anything James, I just could not keep it in any longer," she said backing out of his arms, "it was selfish of me to tell you," tears were once again collecting in her eyes and she was about to get up and flee from the room. "I should have just kept it to myself, I am sorry."

All at once James leant forwards, catching Synnove around the waist and pulling her body back to press against his. One hand stayed around her waist, holding her firmly in place while the other moved to the back of her head. James brought her face to his, "I love you as well my Synnove," he finally said pulling her even closer until his cracked and split lips pressed against Synnove's soft pink ones in a gentle kiss. James pulled away for a second to capture the look on her face in his mind, before kissing her lips over and over, feeling her respond enthusiastically to his kisses. His fingers curled in her hair and his other hand ran up and down her waist while she ran her fingers over the muscles in his arms. Synnove reluctantly pulled away from James so that she could catch her breath, but before she got very far James tightened his grip and pulled her face back to his. He left kisses on her cheeks before returning to her waiting lips.

"James," she said before returning his kiss.

"Yes?"

"I should have told you that a long time ago," she replied smiling against his lips.

"Indeed you should have," he said returning her smile, "now come back here."

Synnove giggled as James possessively claimed her lips with his again.

Out of nowhere there came a loud booming sound and the ship shook, causing James to be thrown onto the floor and land of top of Synnove, his head resting on her chest.

"What was that?"

"It sounded distinctly like cannon fire," James said lifting his head from its comfortable position and listening for further noise, "stay down until we can be sure."

Another loud boom was accompanied by further rocking of the ship and James held tightly on to Synnove to keep her as safe as possible.

"It seems you never get the proper rest you deserve James," Synnove said smiling up at him.

"So it would seem. We need to get out of here and make it back to the top deck so that we can see what is going on," James said, although he did not actually move.

"The door is still locked, Stefan and Gibbons will be far too busy to come down and set us free," Synnove said gesturing her head towards to door, "who would be attacking us?"

"It could be any number of people, but my best bet would be on pirates. This is a large ship after all, if I know pirates as well as I think I do they would not pass such an opportunity up. We can only hope that they manage to distract Stefan and Gibbons for long enough to allow us all to make an escape," James said forming an escape plan in his head.

"Pirates?" Synnove asked her eyes wide with the unmistakeable hint of fear.

"Most likely," James said nodding.

Several of the objects slammed into the ship one after the other. James grabbed Synnove tightly to him and rolled them both over just in time.

Where they had been lying together only moments before, there was now a large gaping hole in the ship. Synnove's eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at the hole. She heard a groan beneath her and looked down at James who was lying on his injured back beneath her, Synnove's weight adding to his discomfort.

Synnove immediately removed herself from her position on top of James, still staring at the hole where her body had been, her body shaking out of pure terror. James struggled to sit up and pulled her terrified form against him.

"I told you I would take care of you," he whispered into her ear, "now we have to get moving. That cannonball blew apart the door as well so now is as good a time as any to break the others out of the cells below and make our escape."

James rose to his feet and pulled Synnove up with him. She was like a dead weight in his arms which made her harder to pull up, but eventually they both made it.

"You saved me, just in time. A moment later and we would have both been blown to pieces," she said in disbelief, "how did you do that?"

"Reflexes," James said simply, "now we have to get moving, if we stay in the same place where they just hit we are more in danger to be hit again."

Looking out of the hole in the side of the ship where the cannonball had just blown through James could see the attacking ship gaining speed against them and coming in closer. The ship was just smaller than the _Engel Lied_, but it was still an impressive sight with its tattered black sails and its black body. James let out a growl of anger in recognition of the ship.

Synnove turned her head to see what James was glaring at, "do you recognise the ship James?"

"Yes Synnove, there is no doubt in my mind as to who that particular ship belongs to. The Captain is not the sort of man I want you anywhere near so stay close to me. But, if I fall behind I want you to promise you will leave without me," he said firmly, "Gillette and Groves will take care of you if I am unable to do so."

"I will do no such thing!"Synnove argued, her fear of the situation slipping away. She had just confessed her love for him and she was not about to leave James behind, no matter what the apparent consequences may be.

"Please do not argue with me now," he said cupping her face in his hands and pulling her closer.

"Then you should stop suggesting ridiculous things. I love you James and I will not leave without you!"

"Say it again, tell me you love me again," he said.

Synnove smiled at James, "I love you James Norrington."

James brought her lips to meet his once more before stepping back away from her, "I could get used to hearing that."

"Then I will tell you that I love you whenever you want me to."

"I love you too Synnove." He grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head, wincing in pain. Next he entwined the fingers of his left hand with hers and they made their way out of the destroyed door and down the hall quickly and as silently as possible.

* * *

Well, its only taken what seems like forever to get to this part, but here it is :D  
Thank you to those of you who have left reviews or added Serendipity to your alerts!


	41. Indestructible

Laying at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled pile was the former Captain D. Gibbons. His eyes were wide open, but they were glazed over, seeing nothing. The bullet wound in the middle of his forehead was the reason for his silence at seeing James and Synnove moving about the ship freely.

"Oh my!" Synnove gasped, completely unaccustomed to seeing a dead man before her.

James gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "do you want to use the stairs down the other end?" he asked.

"No, no! If pirates are attacking then we need to hurry. Besides, he has the keys to the brig on a string around his neck and we are going to need them."

James raised an eyebrow, "how do you know where he keeps the keys?"

"Gibbons liked to taunt me with them," she said, looking away from James.

"I see," he said in reply, "let's carry on shall we?" He took a long step over Gibbons' body and turned back to offer his hand to Synnove. She took his hand and joined James on the other side of the fallen Captain.

"He has a sword too," Synnove said pointing to the blade attached to his hip.

James dropped Synnove's hand; he ripped the key from around Gibbons' neck and passed it up to Synnove before returning to claim the sword. Their fingers laced tightly back together as they silently continued on to the brig.

Another series of blasts rocked the ship, throwing Synnove into the wall. She let out a small whimper at the harsh impact and the loud sounds created by the impact. Synnove looked up at James, his hand still tightly holding on to hers and she was amazed to see that the blast had barely moved him. She assumed it was because he was accustomed to such occurrences, but that thought certainly did not help her feel any better about their situation.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his green eyes swimming with concern.

"Yes, it just startled me more than anything else. Are you alright?"

"Fine," James replied, "but we should hurry. The ship is most likely already taking on water and the lower decks will fill up first."

Synnove eyes widened at his statement, she pushed herself away from the wall and dragged James along with her down the hallway.

When they finally made it to the final flight of stairs down to the brig, they could plainly see that James was correct, the ship was indeed taking on water. The bottom five steps were submerged in ice cold water and it was getting higher every moment.

"Will you stay up here, or will you come down there with me?" James asked, hoping that she would choose to stay on higher ground for the sake of her own safety.

"I will come with you of course," Synnove replied, "staying up here by myself will serve no purpose."

"Be careful where you step, with the ship rocking the way it is I do not wish for you to fall."

"Alright, you go ahead first, I will catch up," Synnove said reluctantly letting go of James' hand and steadying herself against the wall.

Synnove offered James the key which he quickly took and charged down the stairs at his usual pace. Synnove followed at a much slower pace as she was jostled around. Once James reached the final step he turned back to Synnove to check that she was still alright, she gave him a silent nod in response before he shoved the key in the lock and swung the door open. The door was thrown back by the pressure of the water on the other side, unleashing another torrent of water which began climbing up the higher steps. The water was now up to mid thigh on James and much higher on the shorter Synnove. Synnove paled as she began to worry even more about small Antanasia and how high the mater must be for her.

The moment the door opened the sound of Keys barking was the first the pair were greeted with. It brought a happy smile to Synnove's face to hear it, she had been incredibly worried about the brave animal ever since he had attacked Stefan and come off worse for wear. She watched as Keys was paddling around his small cell, trying to keep his head above water.

James set about unlocking the door to the cell containing the drenched and terrified Osmosechu sisters. Antanasia was standing up on the bench, trying to get as far away from the water as possible while her much taller older sister wrapped her arms around the small girl trying to console her.

Yulia called an almost silent thank you to James as he moved silently on to the next cell, setting Gillette and Groves free.

Synnove stood beside the entrance to Keys cell, quietly talking to the dog through the bars. He stopped his barking, wagging his tail in happiness instead, "James, please pass me the keys," she called out.

James passed the keys into her hands, his fingers lingering against hers longer than they should have. Synnove blushed slightly at his actions, still overwhelmed by his confession earlier, but in the darkness of the brig none could tell. She turned form him and pushed the key into the lock and wrenched the door backwards so that Keys could go free. He paddled half-heartedly and Synnove began to worry more about the dog she thought of as her own. She passed the keys back to James without taking her eyes off the struggling dog. Synnove bent down and wrapped her arms around Keys lifting him out of the water as best as she could. He bucked and kicked against her at first, unaccustomed to being lifted, as he was not a small dog, but he eventually settled down as Synnove made her way over to James. His front paws were over her left shoulder and she carried him in a way similar to a mother carrying a child.

James raised his eyebrow at her, "surely the dog can swim for himself Synnove," he said.

Synnove smiled at James, "I know, but he looked as though he was getting tired. I couldn't help myself."

"Would you like me to carry him instead; he is far too large for you to carry."

"Thank you for the offer James, but I have him settled for now," she said as she lifted a slipping Keys higher up on her shoulder. She looked behind James to see that Groves, Gillette and Yulia were free and ready to go, but Antanasia was still in her cell, refusing to move.

"Please come on Antanasia, we have to hurry," Yulia pleaded with her young sister.

"I'm scared, I don't want to get down," Antanasia said, frightened tears slipping down her cheeks. "The water is too high and I cannot swim," she added her voice becoming higher as she panicked.

Groves and Gillette both stepped into the cell with the Osmosechu sisters, determined to help in some way, "it is alright young Miss Osmosechu, we will not let anything bad happen to you," Groves said reaching his hand out to reassure to small child.

Antanasia stretched her hands out to her older sister, being the one she trusted the most in the room, tears still streaming from her eyes, "I'm scared," she whispered.

Yulia moved forwards to her sister, coming to the conclusion that she must carry her younger sister out of the brig if she was too scared to move on her own accord. Yulia's arms wrapped around her sister's waist, pulling her close and brushing her hair away from her face, she whispered to her sister, "please Antanasia, I will not leave without you, but we must go now before the water gets much higher!" Yulia continued to plead with her sister, trying to calm her down, but nothing was working as the water level continued to rise. The bench which Antanasia was standing on was beginning to be submerged and Synnove was losing her grip on the dog she held in her arms.

"Forgive me Miss Osmosechu," Groves said before pushing past Yulia and lifting Antanasia into his arms in a bridal style, being careful not to put pressure upon her stomach for fear of injuring her unborn child.

Antanasia stopped crying, too scared to make a sound; her eyes open wide with fear. She did not struggle as Groves walked past Gillette, James and Synnove and began to make his way up the stairs slowly, as he tried to find the steps which were hidden beneath the dark water. Yulia followed closely behind giving her terrified sister a reassuring smile, a strange sensation tugging at her chest as she watched Groves move so self-assuredly.

Before leaving the room Gillette spotted tapped James on the shoulder and pointed to the wall where four sharpened swords hung.

"If we are under attack then we should take whatever opportunities we can," Gillette's voice was rough from spending days without food or water and he coughed viciously after he had spoken. Gillette grabbed two of the swords from the wall and passed them James and took the other two for himself. Synnove was beginning to feel the strain of lifting a medium sized animal who had apparently decided that wriggling was a good idea. She began to follow Yulia up the stairs, James right behind her, ready to catch her if she tripped.

When he reached the top step Groves gently placed Antanasia back onto the wooden floor of the ship. Her tears had stopped falling and she was no longer panicking, but that did not mean that she was completely calm. Her small hands shook as they moved upwards to rub her stomach, checking that everything was still in place and that nothing was physically wrong, for the moment.

"Thank you Groves," Yulia said quietly placing her hand on his shoulder. Her stutters were gone for the moment, but they would undoubtedly return later.

"You are welcome Miss Osmosechu," he replied politely, his eyes roaming across her face.

"Yulia, please call me Y-yulia," she said, her stutter returning just as she had predicted. The pair seemed to drift closer, their eyes never leaving one another's.

Their seemingly private moment was interrupted by a rather loud sneeze coming from Gillette. They jumped apart, both realising how inappropriately close they had drifted during the few moments that had passed.

The loud boom of another cannonball impacting the ship could be heard as the ship was thrown from side to side. Synnove lost her balance, but before she was thrown to the floor James caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closely towards his body. As Keys was still held tightly in Synnove's arms he took the opportunity to thank James for catching him and Synnove by licking him across the face.

James let out a strange noise and batted the dog away gently with his hand. "I think that you should put him down now Synnove, there is certainly nothing wrong with him at the moment," he said giving the dog a short glare.

His arms reluctantly let go of her waist as she placed Keys on the floor, Synnove turned to James in time to catch the look he was giving the dog. "Don't be so angry with him James, think of it as his way of thanking you," Synnove said smiling up at him. James was interrupted by the sound of male voices shouting and boots knocking against the wooden floor of the deck above their heads. Keys began growling once again, the fur on the back of his neck sticking up and his teeth bared he took up a position between Synnove and the nearest stairwell. They saw the shadow of a person walking in front of the entrance, this person was then followed by several more, but they could not say for sure how many pirates were now on board the ship. Gillette quickly passed a sword to Groves, moving to stand in front of Yulia and Antanasia. While no one was looking in their direction James grabbed Synnove by the waist and pulled her far away from the stairwell. He spun her around and stood in front of her, taking up a defensive stance with each hand tightly gripping a sword.

"What do you suppose is going on up there?" Groves asked.

"We must be under attack from an enemy ship," Gillette concluded.

"Pirates," James explained simply.

"I thought as much, that breed of scum never misses an opportunity," Gillette said with a sneer. "With a ship as large as this I am honestly surprised an attack has not been launched sooner," he added.

"Do you have any idea what flag the ship was flying? If we can identify the attackers we will be better equipped to combat them and escape," Groves said.

"Does a ship with a black body and black sails bring back any memories?" James asked rhetorically, a sneer gracing his face.

"Surely not!" Gillette exclaimed, a similar sneer crossing his face.

"I am afraid so," James nodded.

The three women had been watching the conversation go back and forth between the men with silence and raised eyebrows. Yulia and Antanasia honestly did not mind being left out of the conversation, they had no knowledge of naval combat and they wished to keep it that way, but Synnove wished to know what had upset James so much. He obviously knew who the Captain of the attacking ship was, but James was the former scourge of pirates, he could potentially have a large amount of enemies. In fact, any pirates were a potential enemy that held a grudge against James, personal or otherwise.

"Would you mind sharing exactly which pirate you think is attacking the ship?" she asked turning her gaze to James and silently begging to know.

"The attacking ship is known throughout the seven seas by the name, _The Black Pearl_. It is captained by none other the Jack Sparrow, one of the men who helped solidify my downfall," James said, his normally soft voice dripping with venomous hatred, nothing would ever redeem that man in his eyes.

"Then this will be a personal battle as well?" Yulia asked.

"No," James replied firmly. "As much as I would dearly love to run that man through with my sword, there are more pressing matters at hand," as he said this, his eyes flicked to meet Synnove's.

"Well then, what is the plan?" Groves said redirecting attention back to the more pressing matters which James had mentioned.

"As ignoble as it sounds, we will fight the crew of _The Black Pearl_ only until we can make an escape. First we need to locate at least one completely intact lifeboat. We will battle our way over to it, secure it and then one of us will come back for you," James said motioning towards the women. "The other two will stay with the lifeboat and defend it from destruction. If we move fast enough we can make an escape with barely being noticed."

"What if there are no lifeboats left?" Synnove asked softly, her worried eyes making contact with James' determined ones.

"We cannot afford to think in such a way," James replied. "This may be our only opportunity to escape from this ship."

"What if the pirates capture us?" Antanasia said, finally finding her voice.

"I am afraid that we have nothing of value with which to bargain for our freedom," James explained. "I think you know what the conclusion of that train of thought will be."

Antanasia's face grew pale and she clung tighter to Yulia. "But we will not let that happen," Groves said, James and Gillette nodding in agreement.

More footsteps could be heard crossing the deck, this time they were moving quickly, suggesting that there was a fight of sorts upon deck. Men could be heard yelling, though their words were unintelligible, and there were the odd screams of pain which broke through the yelling.

"What about the extra sword, surely wielding two at once would be more of a hassle than a help?" Yulia asked.

"It would be best if we could leave it with one of you, as a last line of defence if we are unsuccessful," Gillette suggested. "Do any of you know how to wield a sword?"

Antanasia shook her head vigorously, wanting absolutely nothing with any weapons of any kind. Yulia also shook her head, having no idea what to do with a sword when presented with it.

"I will take it," Synnove said stepping forward and reaching her hand towards the second sword James was holding. "I am not all that good with a sword, but I at least know some basics on how it should be used."

James turned to look at Synnove, his eyes full of concern, he had wanted to keep her as safe as possible during all times, but there she was, all but throwing herself headlong into danger.

"James, please give me the sword," she said softly, not breaking contact with his eyes as she pleaded. He reluctantly passed the sword into her hands. They were so dainty, like a woman's hands should be and now he was forever fouling them as he gave her the weapon. He loathed himself as he passed the sword to her, she was too sweet and kind to take up a sword and yet it was his fault that she was forced to do so.

"Thank you James," Synnove said, placing her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of reassurance.

"I hope that you will not need to use it," he said finally tearing his eyes away from Synnove. "We should get moving now before it is too late," James added turning to Groves and Gillette to check if they were ready to go.

"Please be careful," Synnove whimpered.

The three men nodded in response, tightening their grips on their newly acquired swords. Groves gave Synnove a reassuring smile and squeezed Yulia's hand in his own. Eyebrows would have been raised at such a gesture, but now was not the time. They turned to leave up the stairs, determined not to fail at this most important task.

"James, wait!" Synnove called out. He turned around instantly and felt himself being pulled downwards by her hands gripping tightly on to his collar. Synnove pulled his face down to her level and pressed her lips softly against his. His arms made their way around her waist and pulled her body to press tightly against his own. James slowly pulled away from Synnove's lips, but kept his arms secured around her body, "I will be fine Synnove, do not worry so much," he said as he trailed his fingers through her hair.

"You had better be!" Synnove stated, pulling him down to kiss him once more before stepping back from him.

"I think I speak for all of us, my dear Mother included, when I say; it's about time!" Gillette said smirking at the couple. "Honestly I was beginning to think that it would never happen."

"We thought we were going to have to create some elaborate plan to get you two together," Groves added, smiling at his former superior.

"No such plan is needed now; I assure you that I will never let him go now that he is mine," Synnove said firmly.

"Good to hear!" Gillette exclaimed. "But now we really must make a move, are we ready?" He received to firm nods in response to his question, before he led the charge to the top deck.

Synnove tightened her grip on the sword she was holding and moved closer to the stairwell, Keys at her side, watching her every move. Yulia stood behind Synnove and Antanasia still hid behind her older sister. No one said a word as they listened to the commotion above them. The sound of cannon fire had died away to be replaced the clanging of swords and unintelligible shouts of what could either be commands or cries of pain. The moments dragged by slowly until it felt like James, Groves and Gillette had left them behind hours ago.

They heard footsteps thumping down the stairs towards them, Synnove raised her sword and swung it at the figure as it appeared, but was countered by the blade of the figure.

"It's only me," Gillette explained, "come along now. I'll go first, Miss Synnove you bring up the rear because you have the other sword. Be careful and follow me quickly."

Their surroundings blurred around them as the women rushed behind Gillette, Yulia and Antanasia tightly grabbing on to one another with Synnove following very closely behind. She did not take the time to look around and see what was happening for fear that she would get distracted and fall behind.

As it was the group of attacking pirates had their hands full dealing with Stefan and his unusual methods of conflict. The slimy black ropes he had conjured when he had made his intentions known were wrapped tightly around several of the pirates, squeezing them until they were struggling to breathe. Two pirates in particular were struggling against the ropes; one was stick thin and tall while the other was shorter and round. They were arguing with one another as they fought against the ropes, Synnove closed her eyes and swung blindly at the black ropes, freeing the pirates is one easy swing. She did not stick around to see the couple of pirates that she had freed struggle to their feet out of fear that they would repay her kindness in a less than friendly manner.

They soon made their way over to the only lifeboat that remained intact which was being viciously defended by James and Groves. Synnove heard the clanging of swords behind her head as she ducked under James' raised sword arm. She turned around just in time to see James engaged in conflict with another pirate. James' opponent was just as tall as he was, and he had a handsome face, but Synnove did not think he was much of a match for James. The pirate wore a distinctive red bandana covering long black hair and a beard separated into two different braids. His eyes were just as dark as the heavy black eyeliner which encircled them, but they were strangely unthreatening. James' face displayed only intense anger as he fought against the pirate, the pair so engaged in fighting one another that they forgot all about Stefan.

Stefan raised his pistol and aimed it straight at James, but he could not get a clear shot as the two continued to fight and move about. The pirate fought back to back with another, forcing him to stay in one place and forcing James to stay in one place as well. Stefan took that moment as an opportunity to kill James Norrington. He raised his pistol once more and aimed it straight between James' eyes and pulled the trigger.

Synnove looked up just in time to see the gun being fired and where the bullet was heading towards, she let out a scream of pure terror and time seemed to stand still as the bullet carried on its course.

* * *

Thank you all so much for your positive reviews for my last chapter :D I hope I continue to write well enough to keep you all happy.  
I realise that it took a looooong time for James and Synnove to finally get down to business, but I just could not see it happening any other way. Hell, just look at how long it took the man to confess his feelings for Mrs Turner –nee Swann, and even then he didn't really confess anything now did he? That and James seems very concerned with propriety, so I couldn't see him kissing someone he had sworn to protect because that would be a sort of conflict of interest … Perhaps I over think things too much … Anyway, that is just my little justification for how long it took, I hope that redeems me in your eyes AND I hope I didn't lose too many of you because it took so long!


	42. Familiar Faces, Worn Out Places

The scream which forced itself from Synnove's lips caused James and his opponent to stop their fight, swords paused midway in the air. Before either of them could make a move Synnove had forced herself between James the pirate effectively blocking the path of the travelling bullet. In the second that James' eyes made direct contact with Stefan's from across the ship, smoking pistol aimed in his direction, he realised what Synnove was doing. Her arms were outstretched and her back was to James, ready to take the full hit from the bullet in order to save him.

A bright flash of blue light emitted from the sapphire stone of her necklace forming a shield of light in the same moment that the bullet was about to make contact with her body. The bullet stopped in its tracks and simply dropped to the floor, useless. The light forced the occupants of the ship to turn away and shield their eyes, thus forcing all combat to stop. Stefan's ropes loosened their grip on their captives, as he cowered from the light. Before their very eyes the ropes then began to dissolve back into water which then spilled over the side of the ship.

Stefan's eyes widened and he let out a desperate cry as he charged towards Synnove and James, pistol discarded and sword raised above his head. What was left of his powers was vastly depleted fighting off the pirates and he had nothing left with which to keep Synnove captive. If he let Synnove go that would mean that he had failed his Master, and his Master was not known for being forgiving. Stefan had to take Synnove back somehow and regain control over the situation somehow, or else he would face certain death. He felt himself beginning to panic; there was absolutely nothing that he could think of doing that would change to situation to his benefit. Stefan felt for certain that as his powers were depleting Synnove was coming into her own, that little display earlier being only the tip of the iceberg as he had been led to believe. He was out of power and out of options; Stefan had nothing left to lose, so he took his only remaining chance.

James starred wide eyed at Synnove for several moments before he shook himself out of his daze. He spun her around and pulled her tightly against his body, forgetting about the pirate he had been fighting only seconds before. "Are you alright?" he asked cupping her face with his free hand bringing her eyes to meet his own.

"I am fine James," Synnove said. She was deeply confused about what had just happened, but that feeling was quickly overwhelmed by her gratitude that James had not been hit by Stefan's bullet.

James' relief quickly turned to another emotion as his mind caught up with his body, "what on earth were you thinking putting yourself in danger like that?" James shouted at Synnove. "You could have been seriously injured, or worse, killed!" he scolded.

Synnove flinched, never having heard James yell before it was not something she was prepared to deal with, "I will not say that I am sorry for what I did James because I would do it over and over again!" she declared, staring him straight in the eyes.

James' harsh glare dissipated as he studied Synnove's ever-changing eyes. "Thank you my Synnove," he finally said.

"You're welcome," Synnove replied smiling.

The pirate with the red bandana had been standing close enough to follow their conversation carefully, his mind putting pieces together as quickly as he could make the connections. The man he had been fighting looked like the former Commodore Norrington, sounded like the former Commodore Norrington and had the same fighting stance and strength as the former Commodore Norrington, yet it was simply not possible for him to be the man he appeared to be. Norrington was long dead, killed on the Flying Dutchman during that whole 'exterminate all pirates' thing Lord Beckett had going on. It was not possible nor was it logical that the man he had been fighting with was Norrington; therefore the pirate concluded that the man must indeed be who he could not be. The pirate had learnt that nothing was for certain in the world, so he could not afford to doubt anything which he saw.

Out of the corner of his eye the pirate spied the man who had fired the gun at Norrington, the man was moving closer at an alarming rate, but he seemed not to care for anything else going on apart from the movements of the foreign girl in Norrington's arms. The pirate slowly backed away from the pair, not wanted to get in between something that really was not his problem.

James too saw Stefan charging towards them, he pushed Synnove away behind him and raised his sword just in time to counter Stefan's blow. Stefan's face was bright red with anger and sweat as he struck repeatedly against James, his full force behind each blow. He soon had James pressed up against the wooden railing of the ship, but he was by no means stronger than his opponent. In a matter of seconds James had turned the tables on Stefan, this time he was pressed against the railing, struggling to fight back against James. Synnove was forced to watch from the sidelines, unable to do anything to aid James in his battle. Stefan raised his leg and kicked James, sending him crashing to the floor and leaving Synnove open for attack. She raised her sword and tried to fight against Stefan, but she was ultimately unsuccessful. He used all of his remaining force and sent her sword clanging to the ground, and then he grabbed Synnove and pulled her to his body, the blade of his sword pointing settling over her heart. James leapt to his feet, sword raised once again ready to fight Stefan.

"Stop!" he yelled, "Unless of course you want me to kill our dear Grevinna."

James threw his sword to the ground, a scowl crossing his face as he stared intently at Stefan, constantly looking for a weakness of some kind. The fight between the pirates and Groves and Gillette continued on as if nothing else was happening, James was entirely alone on this one.

Another flash of brilliant blue light erupted from Synnove's necklace, temporarily blinding the occupants of the ship. A high pitched scream erupted from Stefan as the blade he was holding began to glow red hot. He threw the sword to the ground and shoved Synnove away from him. The hand which had been holding the sword was blistered and red while the hand which had been holding Synnove captive was completely charred black. Stefan continued to wail and scream in pain, unable to find a way to cool his burning body.

James took the opportunity as it was presented to him and picked up his sword, turning in an instant, running Stefan through, the blade poking through the other side of Stefan's old body. He then removed his sword from Stefan and pushed the man overboard where he was swallowed by the waves and the churning water without another sound.

On Synnove's arm where Stefan had been holding her there was a bright red burn mark in the shape of a handprint. James sheathed his sword and moved over to Synnove but before he could do anything he was interrupted by the pirates advancing upon him.

"Well, that is an altogether new experience wouldn't you say so lads?" the pirate with the red bandana shouted to his crew as they struggled to their feet, eyes wide and full of confusion. His sword was lowered, and he appeared to have no inclination towards reengaging James in battle. The pirate's dark eyes swept over Synnove, taking in every aspect of her body with no sense of shame as she stood behind James.

The two pirates that Synnove had freed earlier began to move closer, until they were standing to one side of the pirate who had spoken. More of the pirate crew gathered around behind their the pirate with the red bandana, effectively trapping Synnove, James and their companions against the railing of the ship, with nowhere to escape except into the water for the pirates would surely destroy the lifeboat as soon as it had been lowered.

The pirate with the red bandana stepped between James and Synnove and extended his hand to her in a gesture of introduction, "I am Captain Jack Sparrow my dear, but you can call me Jack."

Synnove reluctantly shook his hand, not wanting to offend the pirate and risk the possible revenge he may take for such offence. The pirate, Jack, wore many rings on his fingers, each as expensive and stolen looking as the next. Jack dropped her hand and moved onto Yulia and the Antanasia, introducing himself to each woman in turn. Yulia shook his hand as did Antanasia, but then they resumed their positions hiding behind Gillette and Groves, both of whom gave the pirate a distasteful look. Antanasia was shaking with fear once again and Yulia was not far from doing the same.

"This here is Master Gibbs, my first mate," Captain Jack Sparrow said gesturing to a portly older man with white mutton-chops and black hair tied up with a black ribbon. The man nodded his head in their general direction, watching to see what his Captain would do next. "Lads, you remember the former Commodore Norrington don't you?" The Captain said.

"I thought he was dead?" one pirate said.

"No great loss there," another pirate said snickering.

Synnove scowled at that particular comment but before she could make a comment the pirate who called himself Captain had lunged towards Synnove, his hand darting straight to her chest and grabbing the chain dangling around her neck. She let out a scream and slapped at his rogue hand, trying to free herself from his determined grip.

"Quit struggling love" before he could finish his sentence James had his sword drawn and the tip pointed into the skin on Jack's neck. The pressure with which he held the sword was enough to draw a thin line of blood from Jack's neck, but it was not enough to kill him. James placed his free arm around Synnove's waist and pulled her backwards slightly to rest against him.

"What do ye think yer doin to the Captain lad?" Gibbs demanded, raising his sword to point at Gillette and Groves who were defending James on either side, the rest of Sparrow's crew raising their own swords and holding defensive positions.

"I think the more appropriate question would be what Sparrow's hand is doing," James spat bitterly as he tried to pull Synnove closer.

"I second that," she said in a small voice, she was terrified that one of the pirates was going to run James through. She could feel James' hand around her body, if only this was any other time she would have gladly relaxed against him, but the hostile nature of the crew put an end to those thoughts, but it did not stop the blush from crossing her pale face.

"Aye," Gibbs said nodding his head, "what are ye doing Captain?" The crew nodded along with his question. They all knew that Jack was very forward, but this was an entirely new approach for the Captain and his womanizing ways.

"Her necklace lads, her necklace is something special," he replied, his usual hand waving was reduced to one hand as the other was still at Synnove's neck. "You all saw what it did just before!"

"How can ye tell Captain? I don't see anything shiny there, just a plain chain." Gibbs said before James could make a comment.

"It's not just a plain chain lads, there is most definitely something shiny attached to the other end," he said and swiftly yanked on the chain pulled the pendant on the other end out from under her clothing. "See lads, it's a giant sapphire stone, most definitely something shiny!" he exclaimed with childish glee.

Synnove struggled against Jack's movements, but she refrained from struggling too much lest she break the chain.

"Don't you dare touch it!" Synnove yelled. "Get your hands off me pirate!"

"Let me see," Jack said, rubbing his beard with his free hand. "This little trinket here is most likely a prized family heirloom if I am not mistaken," he ignored Synnove's protests. "But the question is: who are you and how did you come to own such an item?"

The clomping of boots could be heard knocking against the wooden floor of the ship. Another pirate was boarding the _Engel Lied_ from the _Black Pearl_ which was positioned right next to the ship. The pirate crossed the plank which loosely joined the two ships together, walking slowly as if he had all the time in the world. This pirate was dressed in what once would have been fine clothing, but it had been worn by the weather. Upon his head the pirate wore a wide brimmed hat with a large bird feather sticking out of it and a small monkey sat on his shoulder, making high pitched screeching noises as it bounced up and down.

"Ah Barbossa, how nice of you to join us," Jack said, an insincere smile plastered to his face.

"I believe you should be callin' me Captain Barbossa lad," the pirate replied.

Gillette snorted, "They don't even know who should be Captain," he said. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a smirk flicker across James' face before it was gone once again, replaced by the neutral mask he kept on his face.

Both Captains turned a forceful glare towards Gillette, but it did not bother him in the slightest, nor did it have the desired effect of scaring Gillette into backing down.

"What is taking so long Jack, I didn't send ye over here to make polite conversation, nor did I send ye over here to attempt to have yer way with young women who obviously aint interested," Barbossa said glaring at Jack.

"I don't know what you are talking about mate. I've discovered something interesting whist you were taking your nap," Jack said waving one hand in the air.

"Aye, that ye have lad, but ye don't know what it is do ye?"

"Of course I know what it is," Jack announced, "but you say what it is first so that I know you aren't lying about knowing what it is in order to trick me."

Synnove raised an eyebrow at the pirate, he had such a strange way of speaking in circles that she could barely follow in a logical order.

Barbossa strode forward until he stood next to Jack, his hand reached forwards and clasped around Synnove's necklace. Barbossa's long fingernails grazed against her skin for the briefest moment causing Synnove's body to stiffen. She was far more intimidated by Captain Barbossa than she was by Captain Sparrow. Jack kept his grip on Synnove's necklace as well, neither pirate wanting the other to have a better grip on something which held obvious wealth. James tightened his grip on Synnove, he wanted to pull her away from the pair of pirates, but he could not risk their unpredictable nature, nor could he risk breaking the necklace that she cherished so dearly.

"I see," Barbossa said scratching his beard with his free hand.

"What do you see," Jack said pulling the necklace closer to his direction in an attempt to see what Barbossa had seen.

Barbossa rolled his eyes at Jack, "let go of it."

"You let go of it!"

"Both of you let go of it!" James commanded, pushing his sword into the side of Jack's neck and breaking the skin.

"This necklace is something special," Barbossa explained.

"I gathered that much," Jack snapped. "Master of deduction you are."

"Ye haven't been able to do much better lad," Barbossa replied with a sneer. He lifted Synnove's necklace further up into the air and away from her body and flicked the tear shaped sapphire stone with his finger. A metallic sounding clink resounded from the stone and Barbossa's harsh face erupted into a malicious looking smile.

Synnove's eyes widened in fear and she tried to back further up against James, but there was nowhere to go and no way that they could escape. Captain Barbossa knew what her necklace was for sure and he would be just like Stefan, never letting her go until he got what he wanted from her. This pirate may even hurt James and her friends in order to get what he wanted as he was after all, a pirate, and they were not known for being merciful in any sense of the word.

"Ye be quite right Jack, this is a family heirloom of sorts, but it aint a simple trinket like ye thought." Barbossa said, dropping his hand from her necklace and backing away. "If ye think ye be getting ye hands on this then ye be thinking wrong Jack."  
"And why would that be?"  
"This be the Tear of the Ocean lad," Barbossa said as if that was supposed to explain everything to Jack. "Ye remember Nettie don't ye?"

Jack closed his eye for the briefest second as he began to mentally sort through all of the women he knew with strange aliases. When his thoughts landed on a particularly gorgeous, tall, blonde Swedish woman nicknamed Nettie, his eyes shot open, "Yes I most certainly do!"

"Then ye must remember her necklace, the things it could do?"

"Of course I do," Jack said nodding in agreement, although he really did not remember much about Nettie apart from what she looked like.

"That necklace is this necklace then," Barbossa concluded watching Jack carefully to see if he really did understand a word that had been said.

"I knew that!" Jack declared, smiling at Synnove. He allowed his eyes to roam over be body, lingering on any of her pale flesh that was exposed. Jack then caught sight of Norrington's arms wrapped defensively around the young girl; he would have to remember that little piece of information for later. This girl was surely Norrington's new bonny lass.

"My mother did not consort with pirates behind her husband's back thank you very much! How dare you imply such a thing!" Synnove cried in outrage swiping at Jack's hands and pulling her necklace out of his grip. She ignored his questions about her necklace, she would be damned if she let this pirate know anything more about the secrets of her family.

"Now how else would you explain my knowing of something I ought not to know if your mother did, or rather didn't do what you say she did, or didn't do?"

Synnove's right eye twitched, she had all confidence in her ability to understand English, but this man, this pirate, had utterly confused her. She leant back against James and turned her head up to meet his eyes, "what did he just say?"

"I believe he is calling you a liar, though he is hard to follow most of the time," James replied, never lowering his sword from its position against Jack's neck.

"Yes, yes," he said waving his hand in dismissal. "How is dear Nettie these days, I really would love to have a word with her."

"Unless you possess the ability to speak with the dead Mr. Sparrow, I fail to see how this would be possible."

"Nettie is dead?"

"You will refer to her as Countess Nordenburg! I do not like the way you presume intimacy with my Mother or my family and yet you did not even know she had been murdered!" Synnove yelled at Jack, feeling her anger rising as she fought back the tears in her eyes.

James instinctively rubbed her side where his arm was in a comforting gesture and she relaxed again. This small act however, did not go unnoticed by Jack, or by Gibbs.

"If your mother is Countess Nordenburg, then what am I to call you?" Jack said, trying to avoid another outburst from the small but viciously tempered woman. Barbossa let the pair speak amongst themselves; this conversation was none of his concern.

"You and your crew will refer to me as Lady Nordenburg." She stated, leaving no room for negotiation. The less time she had to spend talking with this man the better.

"But I'm gathering you do have a first name Lady Nordenburg, it's only polite that you share it with everyone present."

"Only the people of importance know my first name, and you are not one of those people," she said snidely.

"Aye lass, you may think that, but I am the Captain of this here fine vessel, so you will be telling me your name," he said with a smug look upon his face. Barbossa snorted at Jack's assertion of superiority but he let the small woman and Jack argue amongst themselves.

"My first name is Synnove," she admitted reluctantly.

"What a truly enchanting name for such an enchanting young woman," Jack said, hoping to diffuse her anger somewhat.

Synnove blushed at the compliment, unable to help herself, but she quickly hid her reaction with a sneer.

James too sneered at the pirate he had come to loathe during the time that he had been known the man, "now that you both are acquainted, I suggest you let the Lady go Sparrow."

Jack dropped the necklace, seemingly having lost interest in the object after learning what it was. "There isn't anything else valuable on this ship is there?" he asked.

"Take a look around Sparrow, there is only us on board and we came from Tortuga, not exactly the place where one would expect to find riches," James said, his grip never loosening from Synnove although the immediate danger way gone.

"I told ye this ship would not be worth ye trouble Jack. Bad decisions like this be ones that prove ye aint much of a pirate," Barbossa said. "We best be leavin' now I think, see if we can't track down another ship to plunder." He waved his arm in the direction of the crew who began to trudge back to the ship until only the one called Gibbs, Barbossa, Sparrow and the two pirates that Synnove had freed remained.

"Wait! Please!" Synnove said as she saw Barbossa turn to leave.

"What be the problem now?" the pirate asked.

"Take us with you! The ship is sinking and we will not be able to survive out at sea in a lifeboat, surely you cannot be so heartless as to strand us here, knowing that we will die?"

A grin crossed Barbossa's face, much like the one which had scared Synnove earlier. "Now why should I be letting ye on board my ship?" Barbossa asked, "ye have nothing of value that I want or need."

"I may not have anything that you desire with me at the moment, but you know who I am and the riches my parents have. If you give us safe passage back to Sweden then I will see that you are rewarded handsomely for you trouble Captain Barbossa. I will make this journey worth your while, I give you my word!" Synnove declared.

"Excuse me, I am the Captain of the Black Pearl, so really you should be addressing me," Jack interrupted.

"She saved our lives she did Captain Barbossa," the tall, skinny pirate said

"Cut us free just in time she did," the other pirate added, looking hopefully towards his Captain.

Barbossa rolled his eyes, "fine then, we bring them along. But ye best not have been lying when ye said ye would make it worth our while lassie."

"You can trust in my word, but can we trust you?" Synnove challenged.

"Ye have my word as one of the nine Pirate Lords that we will deliver ye and ye friends here safely to Sweden. In return we will be compensated for our troubles, do we have an accord?" Barbossa asked extending his hand to Synnove

"You have my word too, as another Pirate Lord. Pirate Lord of the Caribbean to be precise, much bigger than the Caspian Sea which Barbossa is Lord over," Jack extended his own hand to Synnove, leaving her with two hands presented for her one to shake.

She took Barbossa's first as he had been the first to offer, "We have an accord Captain Barbossa." Next she turned to take Jack's hand but James pushed her hand out of the way.

"Your deal will be with me Sparrow. I want your word that nothing will happen to Synnove, Yulia or Antanasia most importantly. Nor will any harm befall Gillette, Groves and I, else you forfeit your own life as payment."

Jack frowned at James' hand but reluctantly sealed the deal with a customary handshake, "of course mate. Your new bonny lass and her friends will be perfectly safe on board my _Pearl_." There was a smile on Captain Jack Sparrow's face, but James doubted its sincerity, he would have to keep a close eye on his Synnove to make sure she kept far away from Sparrow.

* * *

Hello all! First off, thank you for all the positive reviews and for adding 'Serendipity to your watch/favourite lists, it is very much appreciated :D  
Secondly, sorry this one took a while to make an appearance. I managed to score myself a job so updates may be slower (but hopefully not).

… we all knew I couldn't kill James off! I'm not that heartless … but I bet you weren't expecting Captain Barbossa to make an appearance :D


	43. Thin Line Between

They were escorted from their sinking ship onto the _Black Pearl_ by the group of pirates who had fought against Stefan and his magic. The pirates of course went back to the _Engel Lied_ taking what was left of the ship's provisions and the suitcases full of valuable clothing. Originally the pirates intended to keep the clothing until they could sell it on later but a stern word from James and a glare from Synnove soon persuaded them otherwise. James held tightly onto Synnove as they both crossed the plank joining the two ships together, his hands on either side of her hips ready to catch her lest she fall. Once again Keys was in her arms being carried when James insisted that he could walk across himself. The beast starred at James and wagged his tail throughout the somewhat difficult crossing. Gillette took it upon himself to carry Antanasia bridal style in his arms across the planks, ensuring that she would not fall nor would he put any unwanted pressure on her stomach. Groves went across the planks next, extending his hand backwards to Yulia for her to hold. Yulia's knuckles turned white at the tight hold she kept on Groves, not that the man seemed to mind however. Synnove was the first to set foot onto the _Black Pearl_ and she was amazed by her surroundings. Never before had she seen a ship that was so entirely black, even the free flying sails were as dark as midnight. After placing Keys on the floor she gazed about the vessel open mouthed as she took everything in. James stood behind Synnove, his chest pressing into her back and one of his hands on her waist. Although she did not know it James had his other hand on the handle of his sword, his long fingers flexing with each passing second.

"How do ye like me ship?" Barbossa asked as he walked past Synnove, smiling at her wide eyed stare.

"I think you will find that he means my ship," Jack interjected.

"I think it is magnificent," Synnove answered honestly.

"Thank ye lass," Barbossa said talking over Jack. "tis a pleasure to be having such an appreciative guest on board me prized vessel."

Pushing in front of Captain Barbossa, Captain Sparrow began to talk, ""Mr. Gibbs here is acting ship's doctor. He is not the best, but he is all we have so if you have any problems go straight to him, savvy?"

"Understood," James replied. His eyes never left Sparrow for a second, constantly on guard for he remembered exactly what the man was capable of.

"Steering the ship up there is our only other female passenger, Annamaria. Womanly problems will be addressed by her, most definitely not myself," Jack continued. He pulled as disgusted face as he contemplated the 'womanly problems' he had mentioned.

"Other than that we be expecting this here journey to run smoothly. Ye ladies will stay in yer rooms unless I call fer ye. Ye man may be needed on deck, haf to pull yer weight somehow lads."

James, Gilette and Groves all nodded in agreement, happy in the knowledge that Synnove, Yulia and Antanasia would not be required to do anything that may put them in danger. They had yet to disclose the sensitive nature of Antanasia's condition and had decided to keep it to themselves for as long as possible. One could never be sure how a pirate would react to such news, knowing what strange superstitions the lot seemed to have. Many of the crew members had already made it very clear that they were not happy about having more women on board their vessel. The same pirates were quickly silenced once they heard that there was gold and riches involved for the safe passage of their new passengers.

"Annamaria!" Jack called to the woman.

"What?" she replied in a shout loud enough to equal Jack's.

"Leave the wheel with Cotton for a moment and come down here!"

The woman named Annamaria trudged slowly down the stairs, certainly not appreciating being called out in such a manner, though with all her time amongst pirates she was getting used to their lack of manners. "Yes Captain?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any spare clothing now would you love?" Jack asked, his eyes full of hope.

Annamaria raised an eyebrow at Jack before answering, "I do. But why do you need it?"

"Our lovely female passengers here cannot go around dressed to the nines as they are now. After all, if one is to travel amongst pirates one should at least look like a pirate, savvy?"

"Yes Captain," she agreed.

"Good. Then take these ladies with you and get them changed into something more suitable."

"Aye aye Captain," she replied. Annamaria then turned to the three women and looked them up and down. Her eyes widened slightly as they came to rest on Antanasia, but she did not say a word. "Come along then," and with that final word she turned on her heel and walked away across the deck.

"After ye are properly dressed Annamaria will take ye to yer room, where ye will be stayin' fer the rest of the journey," Barbossa said to their retreating forms.

The three women were taken down several flights of stairs until they reached the crews sleeping quarters. "It's not exactly luxury," Annamaria said turning her head and addressing the nervous looking women. "But it is the safest home I have ever had. Once you show the men who is boss, they learn their place," Annamaria smiled as she said those words. She bent to the floor under one of the hammocks which Synnove presumed must belong to Annamaria. She watched as the woman fished around in a chest which she had just unlocked with a hidden key. Out of the chest Annamaria pulled three extra pairs of trousers and three shirts. One pair of trousers was black and the other two were a dark brown colour, all three shirts were amazingly white coloured considering the circumstances in which the pirates lived. As Annamaria held out the clothing in her hands Synnove, Yulia and Antanasia decided on which ones they wanted. Synnove selected the black trousers and one of the shirts while the two sisters decided to take the brown trousers.

Annamaria then lead the women to the opposite side of the ship. They all remained silent, not knowing what to expect, but not wanting to appear as though they were ungrateful lest Annamaria have a temper they did not yet know about.

"There are two rooms down there," the female pirate said pointing down another flight of stairs. "One is at this side and the other is down the opposite side. This is the only set of stairs down there so do not forget because I will not be telling you again. Take whichever room you want, but each room only has enough space for two people so choose wisely," Annamaria said. The woman then turned on her heel again and walked away back to the top deck.

"Thank you!" Synnove called out to her, but she received no response in return.

Synnove then turned to Yulia and Antanasia and asked them which room they wanted. With Antanasia being in such a vulnerable position at the moment they decided that the Osmosechu sisters would take the room down the opposite end of the ship thus ensuring that the pair would be well insulated from their pirate companions. The sisters then made their way to their room, shutting the door behind them. Synnove entered her room as well, closing the door and shifting a chair underneath the doorknob so that she could stop anyone from entering unless she wanted them to. Quickly Synnove struggled out of her dress, fumbling with the strings of her corset and nearly tripping over her long skirt several times. Synnove was glad that no one could see her struggling in such a way for it was not particularly graceful at all. Many minutes later Synnove had pulled the trousers on as well as the white shirt. She looked at her old dark blue dress which had begun to fade around the edges, but the corset still held its vibrant colour. Synnove then set about separating the corset from the rest of the dress by ripping through the fabric, once she had done so she put the corset back on over the top of her white shirt. Synnove was used to wearing corsets so the idea of having to go without one did not appeal to her at all. She was sad to see the dress go, but she was glad that she managed to salvage something from it. Hours passed as Synnove sat on the lone bed looking out the porthole window and studying her surroundings. Not that there was much besides blue ocean and blue sky to study, but it did take her mind off of her boredom. When she felt that she could stand it no longer Synnove slipped her boots back on before removing the chair from underneath the door handle. When she opened the door she was greeted by Keys standing on the other side, his tail wagging happily and his namesake jingling between his teeth. The dog darted into the room and sat on the floor behind her watching her every move.

"I am sorry boy, I did not mean to leave you outside for so long. Come here," she spoke to the dog before dropping to her knees and giving the dog a cuddle. Keys responded by nudging her face with his head, his tail continuing to wag quickly.

Shortly after Keys arrived in the room James made his way down the stairs looking for Synnove and the dog as well. The moment he saw her standing in the doorway the worried look on his face seemed to melt away and he smiled at her.

"Hello James!" she called smiling up at him.

"Hello again my Synnove, I trust you have not had any trouble yet?" he asked.

"No, everything has been completely fine," she replied. "How have things been up on deck?"

"They have been as fine as can be expected. I have been sent down here to find some place to sleep for a few hours as has Gillette. Groves will apparently be taking first watch with one of the other pirates."

"I hope Groves will be alright by himself."

"He will be fine Synnove. Groves has a good head on his shoulders."

"I know you are right," she replied. "Will you be sleeping in here with me?"

"There is only one bed in this small room. Not that I expected much more from a pirate ship. I do not suppose either of the Captains thought very much about this before ordering us off into our room," James said. "I will sleep on the floor and you can take the bed."

"No," Synnove replied quickly. "You are injured and you will not be sleeping on the floor, I simply will not allow it."

A flicker of a smile crossed James' face as he gazed down at Synnove, "and you will not be sleeping on the floor either, it isn't proper for a woman to sleep on the floor."

"Then we are agreed, we shall share the bed!" she declared returning James' smile, knowing full well that that was not what he had meant at all. But she also knew that it was the only alternative the pair had.

"Sharing a bed is even more improper!" James said completely outraged by her suggestion.

"My darling James, I am most certainly not going to allow you to sleep on the floor and I know you will not allow me to do the same. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that we share the bed."

James opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a combination of jingling and soft barking coming from behind Synnove. The dog wagged his tail at them, they keys in his mouth making it appear as though he was smiling at them with his opened mouth. He trotted up to the side of the bed and placed his front paws on the edge, turning his face around and casting his brown eyed gaze at Synnove, knowing she was more likely to give him a hand and lift him onto the bed that James. Synnove smiled at the animal before making her way over to him. She gently wrapped her arms around his middle, the dog responded by throwing his head back and butting against her gently. Synnove giggled softly and butted her head back against his, smiling as he made playful growling noises. At the count of three she lifted Keys onto the bed and stroked his head before taking a seat next to him at the foot of the bed. She patted the empty space beside her and silently invited James to sit. He slowly lowered himself to the bed, trying his best not to let his pain and exhaustion show, but Synnove could tell as easily as looking at him. She lifted her hand and brushed his hair back from his face with her fingers.

"Please James, I know you are tired and that you are in pain, although I know that you will not admit it. I have absolutely no problem with sleeping on the floor if you are so against sharing the bed. I want you to be comfortable, you deserve nothing less."

James let out a sigh as he realised Synnove had won this minor argument, "we shall share the bed," he conceded. "But the dog will sleep between us so that we may maintain some form of propriety."

"Of course darling," she replied smiling. "Now get yourself settled into bed and comfortable for the night."

"What about you?"

"I am just going to check on Yulia and Antanasia and see how they are doing," Synnove paused as she saw the unimpressed look on James' face. "Do not worry James, they are only a few rooms over, I shall be fine."

"Are you sure that you do not want me to escort you?" he asked ready to rise from the bed and accompany her wherever she wanted to go.

"I am sure James, try and get some sleep before I come back please," she said smiling at his still unimpressed face. "I will be completely fine."

James leant backwards slightly and removed something metallic from his trouser pocket. He looked at the object as if considering what to do with it before turning his gaze to Synnove. "At least take this with you," he said pushing the cold object into her hands.

Synnove looked down to discover that James had handed her a small pocket knife, not big enough to cause serious damage, but enough to dissuade any potential attackers. "James, I do not think that I will need this," she answered. "But thank you for the thought."

"Please take it with you and keep it on you at all times. I do not want to risk anything happening to you."

"I think you worry far too much my darling," Synnove replied. She stood from the bed and tucked the knife into her pocket, "However, I will keep it with me always if that is what it takes to soothe your mind. Now please try to at least to get comfortable while I am gone." Synnove leant over James cupping his face and bringing his lips to her own. Synnove gave James a short soft kiss before backing away, a light red blush covering her cheeks.

"Do not be too long," James added. Synnove was surprised to see that he too was blushing, if only slightly.

"I will try my best," she replied smiling before opening the door and shutting it behind her. Synnove knew that if she did not leave at that moment she would never get around to visiting Yulia and Antanasia.

After opening the door and getting about halfway to the room shared by the Osmosechu sisters Synnove ran into Gillette. She smiled to herself as she had been hoping to find him quickly before returning to James.

"Gillette I have something very important that I must ask you, do you have a moment?"

"Of course I have a moment Miss Synnove," he replied a curious look upon his face. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," Synnove replied. "Nothing is wrong at the moment, but your answer to my next question will determine what goes on from there."

"I see. Well then, ask away."

"Do I really snore so loudly that you could hear it from your room down the hall?" Synnove blurted out quickly, a light red blush staining her cheeks.

Gillette could not contain the eruption of laughter which escaped his lips at that particular moment.

Synnove's eyes were wide with shock at the sound, "Oh no, I really do make a terrible sound don't I?"

Between gasps of laughter Gillette could see the sad look on Synnove's face growing. "I said that to you in jest dear girl. There was no truth to my words, I was just pulling your leg."

"Pulling my leg?" she asked, unfamiliar with that particular term. Her head tilted slightly to the side in a gesture of confusion.

"Kidding you," he explained. Seeing Synnove was still slightly confused at his choice of words Gillette decided he needed further explanation. "I was joking."

Synnove playfully glared at Gillette, "you mean to say that I was worried all this time for absolutely no reason?"

Gillette had the sense to look somewhat guilty before he replied, "I suppose that would be a correct assumption."

"You truly are terrible Gillette," she said, her glare turning into a smile. "But I shall forgive you because it means that I do not snore! Thank you Gillette."

"You are most welcome Miss Synnove. It is good to see that you have not lost your optimism Miss Synnove, especially after everything that has happen on your journey."

"I do not think that anything will get me down as long I have James and you and Groves as well of course. You have all been so good to me."

"That is good to hear Miss Synnove. Now I really must get back up on deck, who knows what form of discipline pirates emplore."

"Yes, yes of course. I shall see you later Gillette!" Synnove replied smiling, content in the knowledge that she could now share a room with James without worrying about snoring so loudly that he would not be able to sleep.

The pair of sisters had settled into their small room rather nicely considering the circumstances. Annamaria had also given them spare clothing to wear including trousers and loose fitting shirts. On Antanasia the shirt was much too big, but the young girl was glad to be free from restricting corsets and dresses putting pressure on her slowly growing stomach. Yulia on the other hand was not so impressed with her change of clothing. Being much taller than Annamaria the trousers which she had borrowed showed the flesh of her ankles, the only thing allowing her to keep her modesty was the boots she had swapped with Synnove. When Synnove knocked on their door it was Yulia who opened it, a worried look plastered across her face.

"Yulia what is wrong?" Synnove asked the moment she saw the somewhat distraught woman.

Yulia let out a nervous laugh, "I do not think that trousers are a good look on me, I can see why they are usually only worn by men."

"That is nonsense sister!" Antanasia exclaimed before turning to Synnove and explaining her opinion. "You know she only says that because she worries what her dear Groves will think."

"Antanasia! I told you not to go around telling people that!" Yulia yelled wide eyed and flushed with embarrassment. She picked up a stray piece of blanket from the floor and threw it in the direction of her sister. The fabric did nothing to silence her younger sister, but it allowed Yulia to feel slightly better.

"I only told Synnove and you know she will not tell anyone, really Yulia you worry too much."

"James worries a lot as well, he made me bring a knife with me just to come here," Synnove said. Although she thought James was being a tad ridiculous with his suggestion she could not help but smile at the thought of how protective he was.

"Now that is a good idea!" Yulia exclaimed. "I wonder if he has any more spare?"  
"I do not think so, besides, he told me never to leave this knife behind and I have no doubt that he will check regularly to see if I still have it," Synnove said. "I also do not think that you will have to worry about the pirates. Their payment relies on our safe passage to Sweden, if anything even almost happens to one of us they will receive no payment whatsoever. In fact, I would deliver them straight to the local constabulary rather than take them home, but only if they betray their word."

"See sister, I told you they would have figured it all out. Norrington, Groves and Gillette would never have put us at risk if they did not think that it was worth it. You just have to learn to trust people better," Antanasia said.

"But be careful when you select those who you will put your trust in," Synnove added.

"It is a difficult situation isn't it?" Yulia said.

"We will get through this. Now I have something very important that I wish to ask you, may I ask now, or would you prefer to get some sleep and we will discuss it tomorrow?"

Antanasia and Yulia shared a strange look which Synnove could not interpret, but she recognised the underlying feeling on worry in their eyes. "What is it that you wish to discuss?" Yulia asked.

"Where will you go once we reach Sweden?" Synnove asked wasting no time in getting to the point.

The sister shared looks again before Yulia answered, "we will attempt to make it home. We will find passage on a ship back to Denmark, where the ship was originally going. Then we will make our way to Romania from there."

"But you said that you were only young when you left your homeland, are you sure that you will remember your village once you return?"

"I do not know, that is something that we must keep faith in," Yulia said.

"What about Antanasia? Travelling such a great distance with a young pregnant girl will not be easy and neither will convincing the village to accept her back in that condition." Synnove did not like pointing such things out to her friends, but she felt that the sooner they all thought of these things the sooner they could all come to a conclusion.

"We know, but there are very few options left for us. We were thinking that if I have the baby before we reach home then we can say that it was Mothers and now that she is gone it is ours to look after," Antanasia admitted.

"But you know that there will always be doubts and whispers Antanasia," Yulia added.

"Come with me then. I will speak with my Father and he will help you both. Stay with me and my family in Sweden where I can ensure safety for the both of you," Synnove said.

"We could not be burdens upon you in such a way. You are a noble of very high birth Synnove; we are nothing but peasants who moved away from home in search of a better life. It is not right," Yulia said, her voice wavering slightly.

"You would never be a burden on me or my family. As you said, we are nobles, therefore we can afford to look after you both. My Father may not look it, but he is a kind and caring man, once I have explained everything to him, he will understand, he will help. You just have to trust in me, please."

"Of course we trust you Synnove, you have been nothing but kind to us. You even made Yulia realise that she needn't be afraid of Mr. Groves or Gillette of Norrington. You know she really has come a long way during the time that you have been around," Antanasia said smiling at Synnove. "She barely even stutters anymore, well, apart from when Mr. Groves is around."

"Thank you," Synnove replied smiling at the sisters. "Does that mean that you will put your trust in me?"

"Yes," they replied in unison both smiling back at Synnove.

The three women kept in conversation for a while after that, talking about much happier things before Synnove had to excuse herself and go back to James.

Synnove carefully opened the door to the room she shared with James. She moved as slowly and quietly a possible, just in case James was sleeping. The last thing she wanted to do was wake the poor man, he needed to catch up on a lot of rest. Their room was dark as the candle had obviously been blown out whilst she was gone so Synnove could not see much of anything in front of her. She fumbled around for a few moments, trying to locate where she was and where she should be. Her arms stretched out in front of her as if attempting to see with the tips of her fingers.

"Welcome back," James' voice came from the direction she presumed the bed was in. The unexpected sound of his voice made Synnove jump, just as James had predicted it would.

"James! What have I told you about doing that!" Synnove scolded, "I thought that you would be asleep by now."

"I would not sleep until you came back."

"Would not or could not?" Synnove asked smiling.

"A bit of both I think," he admitted so quietly Synnove almost did not hear him. "Now hurry up because I would like to get some sleep before dawn rises."

"I was not gone for that long! Now close your eyes so that I may adjust myself properly for bed."

"It is completely dark in here Synnove, I will not be able to see anything."

Synnove laughed at his comment, "please just do it anyway."

"Alright," he grumbled shutting his eyes tightly and bringing his fingers up to cover them. James could hear Synnove shuffling around and the telltale sounds of boots hitting the floor as she went about her business. A few minutes later James felt a slight dip in the bed as Synnove climbed into it. Her hands were still stretched out in front of her as she pulled back the covers on her side and carefully slipped between the sheets. Synnove's hands came into contact with something fluffy and furry and at first she was surprised, but once she realised what it was she smiled. Synnove had not expected that James would allow Keys to stay on the bed with them but she was glad that he did. The dog had been through a lot during his time with them and Keys deserved as much comfort and luxury as James.

"Are you settled yet Synnove?" James asked, his voice coming from much closer than she had expected.

"One moment please," she replied turning onto her side and facing James. "Are you sure you are comfortable James? I do not mind getting up and asking one of the Captains for extra pillows."

"I am fine. The best way for me to get some sleep is to lie on my side or on my back, though I think that I will test my side first."

"If you are sure you will be comfortable then, but please do not hesitate to tell me if you are uncomfortable." Synnove said staring intently at James in the darkness. She wished that there was some form of light so that she could see his face properly, but alas there was none.

"I will," he conceded, knowing full well that he would not make even the slightest sound of complaint. "Goodnight my Synnove."

"Goodnight my love."

James smiled in the darkness at her choice of words. He wanted desperately to pull her closer and kiss her goodnight, but he fought his desires and kept his distance for the sake of propriety. Ever so slowly James heard Synnove drift off to sleep, the slowing down of her breathing informing of such. Keys bucked and kicked a few more times before finally joining Synnove in slumber.

* * *

Hey guys, I am sorry that I left you all hanging for so long. Work bombarded me with the whole Christmas rush deal and I had a little bit of writers block. Please forgive me!  
Just to let you all know I have the final chapter of this story written! There will also be a sequel, but I am quite a way from finishing this yet!


	44. Insatiable

Synnove slowly opened her eyes and welcomed the morning sun pouring through the small window in their room. Feeling a weight across her stomach Synnove looked beside her to discover that James was still fast asleep, lying on his stomach with his face pressed into the pillow. The weight that she could feel came from James' arm slung around her waist, holding her in place and protecting her while she slept. Keys was no longer lying between them but at the foot of the bed spread out with his belly showing, also still fast asleep. Synnove smiled to herself at the sight of both males finally looking so peaceful. James' face was so close to her own that she could feel him breathing. Synnove could not bring herself to get out of bed and start her first full day onboard a pirate ship so she shuffled closer to James ever so gently so as not to wake him. She let out a contented sigh and fought against her urge to cuddle up to James and kiss him, but only just managing to do so. She let her eyes drift closed again, but she knew that she would not fall asleep again. Synnove was happy to just lie there next to James, doing absolutely nothing.

It was then that she noticed the reoccurrence of another of James' more curious habits. He began mumbling in his sleep, talking about something that Synnove could not quite make out just yet. As his mumbling got louder she could hear him saying the same sort of things he had said when he had been injured in Tortuga.

Synnove frowned as she heard him speak, "do not leave me. Stay here with me. Do not fall in love with Sparrow, stay with me," James mumbled. "Do not be like her, never like her. I could not stand it."

"Of course I will stay with you silly. Now be silent and go back to sleep," Synnove replied trying her best not to wake him.

"Yes darling," James mumbled, shuffling slightly in his sleep. His grip on Synnove's waist tightened and she watched as a smile crossed his sleepy face. As gently as she could Synnove stretched her fingers out to brush James' hair away from face. She let her fingers slowly trail through his long brown hair, just stroking his cheek and smiling happily at him. Before she knew it Synnove drifted back off to sleep, truly happy for the first in a long time.

When she next woke Synnove saw that the sun had dropped further down in the sky, though without a clock of any description she could not say what time it was. Keys was still lying at the bottom of the bed, splayed out in an utterly unattractive manner. Once he noticed Synnove was awake he sat up and wagged his tail, getting ready to pounce and begin playing. He was only deterred by a stern look from Synnove telling him to stay still, but he continued to watch her waiting for any sign that it was alright to play. James had not moved since she had last been awake, his arm was still thrown over her waist. However, her eyes widened as she saw that his breathing was far heavier before and his forehead had a light covering of sweat across it. As she watched him, his green eyes inched open to meet hers.

"James my love, are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"I do not feel so well," he stated simply.

"That much is obvious, do you want me to see if I can find Mr. Gibbs and get him to have a look at you? Synnove asked. Her fingers trailed up over his face, feeling his overly warm forehead.

"I do not wish to be a burden on you, perhaps if you could just find me some water and I will start to feel better."

"Alright then, I am going to get out of bed now so please close your eyes while I make my presentable for the pirates."

James nodded weakly in silent response before closing his eyes and turning his face into the pillow to show her that he would not peak. Reluctantly he removed his arm from around her waist and let her go. After several minutes of shuffling about and the rustling of clothing Synnove had pulled her corset back on and tied the strings with much difficulty.

"I will be back in a few minutes okay James?"

"Fine," he mumbled rolling onto his side again and looking at her. "Do you have your knife with you?"

Synnove dug around in the pocket of her trousers and brought out the small metal object, "I told you that I would keep with me always," Synnove said. "Now you stay here while I go find some water for you."

James gave no reply, simply turning back onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow. Keys, seeing Synnove leaving jumped off the bed and darted out of the room after her. He was her escort in the absence of James and for that she was grateful.

She cautiously made her way up to the top deck, her hand on the knife on entire way and Keys following happily by her side. She saw neither Gillette nor Groves on the deck, so she decided to simply grab Mr. Gibbs and get him to help her. Synnove moved quickly so that she could avoid the pirates like James had told her to.

"Mr. Gibbs Sir?" Synnove called, slowly approaching the older man seeing him standing near the railing looking out over the ocean.

"Yes lassie?"

"I was wondering if you could please help me."

"Well that really depends on what ye be needing me help with," he replied noncommittally, raising an eyebrow at her.

"James was badly injured by Stefan, I tried to patch him up as best as I could, but I fear my work may not have been sufficient," Synnove explained. "I am worried for him. He has a fever and he cannot find the strength to move. He asked only for water but I fear he may need more than just that."

"Injured you say?" Gibbs questioned. "He seemed fine yesterday," he said.

"James is not alright anymore Mr. Gibbs," Synnove paused, not quite certain how to explain what she knew of James. "He is not the type to allow anything to distract from what he believes to be his mission. I think you understand what sort of a man that he is Mr. Gibbs."

"Aye, I get the picture. You know, I once served under Norrington when he was only a lieutenant. He is a particular sort of man, Norrington is one ye never really forget. No matter how much ye would try."

"Then will you help me Mr. Gibbs?" Synnove asked hopefully.  
"Alright lassie, if it will stop those eyes of yours watering at me," Mr. Gibbs said, his eyes surprisingly gentle for someone who was supposed to be a vicious and bloodthirsty pirate.

"Thank you so much," Synnove said smiling widely at the older man. "First could we get some water for him?"

"Alright lassie, follow me then." Mr. Gibbs then turned on his heel and lead Synnove and Keys to where the fresh water supply was kept. Synnove filled a bowl full of water for James to drink, and a bowl of water to help wash James' injuries later.

Synnove then lead the way back down to her room, balancing each bowl in her hands. She passed one to Mr. Gibbs before knocking on the door and opening it to find James still lying on the bed. He had kicked the sheets off of him and now she could plainly see that he had bled through his bandages by the red patches on the back of his shirt. Synnove bit her lip to hold back her tears at the sight.

"James, are you awake?" Synnove asked moving closer to him. She set the bowl she was carrying down on the chair beside the bed and sat down next to him.

James stirred slightly turning onto his side and looking up at her. His eyes struggled to stay open so he squinted at her, his eyes holding a helpless look to them. "I am awake, but I feel worse than before. Did you manage to find any water?"

"Yes, try to sit up and I will help you drink some."

James struggled, wincing as he manoeuvred into an upright position. Synnove picked her bowl back up and passed it to James, she held it to his lips and watched while he slowly drank the entire contents of the bowl. "Okay darling, lie back down comfortably and Mr. Gibbs and I will attend to your to your wounds. You have a bit of a fever darling, but you should be fine after a good rest. Just stay still whilst I change your bandages then you can go back to sleep. I will try my best not to hurt you, but I cannot promise you that it will not hurt."

"It is alright Synnove, I know you have malicious intentions towards me," James replied.

"We best be cleaning these wounds then I will go and find some thread and a needle," Mr. Gibbs said contemplating how best to go about fixing up the man.

"What do you mean thread and needle?" Synnove asked.

"I am going to have to sew up those wounds to help them heal faster. I won't be pretty lass, so I suggest you leave the room when it comes to that."

"I will not leave his side Mr. Gibbs, I will stay," Synnove said firmly.

"Do as you wish then lassie. You make a start while I go find the medical supplies," Mr. Gibbs said leaving the room.

Synnove's small hands made their way to the front of James' shirt and she began to unbutton his shirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked. The stunned tone of his voice was dulled by the fact that he was struggling to stay awake.

"In order to clean your wounds you cannot be wearing a shirt my darling. Now either you can take it off and lie down while I turn away, or you can let me help you," Synnove stated, not taking her eyes off of James.

James closed his eyes in an attempt to block off his pain, "help me please," he whispered.

"You did not have to ask," she replied smiling up at him.

Synnove continued to undo the button at the top while James took the ones at the bottom and they met in the middle. His shirt now hung loosely from his body and Synnove could see a large scar over his heart.

She placed her hand over the scar and looked up at James, "what is this from?"

"The night that I died. I was half expecting to see a gaping hole there after we made our return from the locker, but instead I found this scar."

"Oh James, I am so sorry," Synnove gasped. "It does not hurt you does it?"

"No. I just find it rather unnerving."

"I can imagine," she said tracing the outline of the scar with her fingertips. "I am glad to have found you James Norrington and I am even gladder that we escaped the locker together, even considering the circumstances which threw us together."

"As am I," he said as he raised his fingers to lace through Synnove's. "I am glad that you are mine and mine alone."

"I must confess something to you James," she said, her voice now taking on a worried tone.

"What is it?" James said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Stefan stole my first kiss and I have always wished that it had been you instead," she confessed. "Although he took my first James I promise you will have every single other one until the day that I die."

"Thank you," he replied. James reached out to Synnove with his free hand and pulled her close to him so that his skin met with her clothing. "You had me truly worried for a moment there Synnove. Now let us finish getting my bandages off before Gibbs comes back."

"Alright, you sit still while I make a start," Synnove removed her hand from James' chest and reached down to remove the pin which had been holding his bandages in place.

Slowly she peeled the layers of bandages away mindful of every time James took a sharp breath in due to the pain. Despite her best efforts the bandages had stuck to the cuts and removing the fabric was a painful ordeal for the both of them. Synnove truly hated to see James in such pain, but rather this pain than the pain of infection and slow death. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact. Soon James was bare-chested in front of her and Synnove could not help but blush at the sight. He had more scars that just the one over his heart which Synnove guessed where the product of a long naval career, even his back had more of the same whip marks. Those marks had however healed with time leaving nothing by partially raised lines across his back. Synnove had not a single scar on her body so she could not imagine the pain James must have felt that accompanied each one.

James watched Synnove intently as she studied him, smiling as he caught her blushing. He could not remember a time when he had been so completely bare in front of a woman, and never before a woman who he loved or even had a passing care for.

"You truly are very handsome James," Synnove admitted, the blush on her cheeks never disappearing. Changing the subject she said, "I have something that I wish for you to have. Just as you gave me something that will protect me, I want to give you something that my Mother said would always protect me and the ones that I love." Synnove reached her hands up behind her neck and unclasped her necklace, holding it in the palm of her hands.

"I cannot take that from you Synnove, it means far too much to you," he said. James placed his hands over her open palms and pushed them back towards her, "you need to keep it."

"No, I was told that I would know when to pass it on, and I know that this is the time and you are the one who deserves. It may not work for you the same way that it worked for me, but I think that it will serve its purpose, whatever that may be."

"Synnove I –"

"Shhh!" Synnove said turning James' hands over and dropping the necklace into his grip. "It is yours now; I will hear no more arguments."

Despite himself James found that he was smiling at Synnove, "thank you love." James felt his eyes begin to drift closed, still struggling to stay awake and fight through his pain. He slipped her precious necklace into the pocket of his trousers having found not other suitable place for it at that moment.

Seeing James' obvious discomfort Synnove suggested that he should begin the process of lying on his stomach and making himself as comfortable as possible for what was about to happen. A few minutes later when he was settled Synnove took the cloth from the second bowl of water and began wiping away the dried blood and the freshly spilling blood away from his wounds. Keys could hear James' grunts of pain and made it quite clear that he was not happy with the situation. After much struggling the dog pulled himself up onto the bed and lay down beside James, watching Synnove's movements and making sure that she was not hurting James on purpose. His brown eyes followed her hands as they moved back and forth from the bowl to James' back.

The water in the bowl was stained red with the amount of blood that James was still losing.

"How are you feeling now? I am not hurting you too badly am I?" Synnove asked leaning over James and stroking an uninjured section of his skin.

"Better," he mumbled, his face buried in the pillow. "You are doing fine."

"Okay I managed to find a needle and some thread, brought a candle with me to sterilise the needle. Just in case you know," Mr. Gibbs announced as he entered the room.

"Thank you Mr. Gibbs," was all Synnove could think of to say in reply. She was most certainly not looking forward to what was about to happen.

"Masters Ragetti and Pintel are here to hold Norrington down while I get to work."

"There really is no need for that Mr. Gibbs," Synnove said, suddenly not liking where this was heading.

"Actually, I think it might be," James said raising his head from the pillow and turning to speak to her. "I've had this done before and let us just say restraints of some form is a good idea."

"Fine, but I will hold his hands while you two," she said motioning to the odd looking pair, "hold down his feet."

Mr. Gibbs lit the candle and begun sterilising the needle before pushing the thread through the eyes hole. Synnove moved her pillow and sat there instead, half laying down and linking her fingers with James'. The taller of the two pirates, who actually introduced himself to Synnove before being scolded by the shorter one, was named Ragetti, the short one was known as Pintel. They both took up residence down the bottom of the bed, holding tightly onto James' leg. Pintel dug his dirt covered fingernails into James' skin for good measure until Ragetti told him off.

Each time the needle pierced through James' skin his breathing would hitch and he would grind his teeth together. He refused to squeeze Synnove's hands because he knew doing so would only hurt her. About halfway through the so called medical procedure Synnove let go of one of James' hands. Instead she ran her fingers slowly through his long hair, whispering soothing words in a language which James could not understand. He would have fallen asleep had it not been for the piercing of his flesh at regular intervals.

After what felt like an eternity Mr Gibbs announced that he was finished and that he would be leaving them in peace for the rest of the day while James recovered his strength. He also said that he would send someone down later with more bowls of water to clean the blood away and to drink.

Once the pirates had left and shut the door behind them Synnove let out the breath that she felt she had been holding in ever since they arrived. She shuffled into a more comfortable sitting position, her back against the headboard of the bed. Keys too thought that it was time to move standing up and coming to lie down on the other side of Synnove where there was only empty space.

"How do you feel about moving slightly darling?" she asked James.

He raised his eyes to meet hers with a questioning look in his eyes, but he did not say anything in response.

"Your pillow must be feeling rather damp at this moment, lay your head here for a while until you cool down more," Synnove patted her lap. "Before you ask, it will not bother me in the slightest," she said smiling at him hopefully.

James gave in to her smiling face and shuffled slowly over to her. Synnove was correct of course, he found that she usually was. His pillow had been damp with sweat and crushed by his arms while he attempted to divert the pain somewhere else. Synnove was warm, but not uncomfortably so. James found himself almost nose to nose with the dog who had decided to make himself comfortable on Synnove's other side, but he could not bring himself to push the beast away. The dog was dear to Synnove and thus dear to him as well, although he would be loath to admit it in public. Despite the fact that James was barely conscious, he could not ignore the persistent thoughts that had been gnawing at him. They were not particularly happy thoughts to be thinking, but James could not help himself. When he was feeling better he had something very important to discuss with Synnove and he had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like the outcome of said discussion. Closing his eyes tightly James moved closer to Synnove and let himself fall asleep as he felt her gentle fingertips running through his hair.

* * *

Hello lovelies! Here is another update for you to make up for the lack of updates previously.  
I'm sorry that I worried a few of you by mentioning the final chapter; I promise you that it is a while off just yet!

Here is a somewhat interesting, but altogether completely irrelevant fact. I live in a suburb which is nautically themed. There is Bosun Terrace, Mainsail, Latitude, Longitude, Crowsnest, Sailmaker and loads others – including Admiralty Cove! Also the houses of my college were named Adventure, Discovery, Endeavour and Resolution after Captain Cook's ships which settled New Zealand.


	45. I Will Not Be Broken

Synnove sat at James' side during the day and slept next to him at night waiting patiently until he was feeling better. Talking with him while he was awake enough to make conversation and sitting in content silence while he slept. It took several days before he was well enough to start moving about. Synnove was amazed at how quickly he had recovered and she resolved to thank Mr. Gibbs a hundred times over and then a hundred times again.

That particular morning Synnove had risen early from bed, leaving James behind with Keys to keep him company while he slept. She decided that since she could not fall back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried, she might as well go see what was for breakfast. Synnove was not expecting much to eat; the entire ship was on half-rations because of their addition to the crew. She would usually give half of her food to James because he needed it more than she did and then she would fall victim to the pleading eyes of Keys and ended up giving him half of what James had left. Synnove smiled as her stomach made the most unpleasant growling sounds, her sacrifice was more than worth it, she was absolutely sure.

Having noticed that Synnove was gone from his side, James slowly made his way up the stairs from their room up onto the deck. By now the sun was hanging high in the sky; he had apparently slept longer than he had originally planned. As he thought back James could not ever remember a time when he had slept so late, he felt that he was beginning to lose a part of himself that he had always kept highly regimented. James let out a frustrated sigh as he scanned the top deck, looking for Synnove. He felt his upper lip curl in disgust as he saw Sparrow sauntering over to Synnove as she leant against the railing staring out at the ocean.

James had to admit that although he had been against Synnove wearing men's trousers, she did actually suit them. But he also had to admit that he thought that she would look good in anything, she was perfection in his eyes. Her clothing clung to her body as it was pushed back by the wind and her hair flew freely in the wind. James' could not tear his eyes from her, but he could not forget the fact that Sparrow was standing so incredibly close to her.

After a few moments he felt Gillette come to a stop standing next to him watching him, watching Synnove. Gillette remained silent, simply standing next to his former superior officer. They both watched as Sparrow said something which made Synnove burst into a fit of giggles. It was a sound James was not used to hearing come from her and it caused a painful stirring feeling in his chest where he knew his heart was.

"I do not think that I have ever made Synnove laugh in such a way," James confessed before he could stop the words from escaping him.

Gillette grunted, knowing exactly where James was going with such thoughts. "You really should not worry so much old friend. I highly doubt Miss Synnove is the type to run away with a bunch of rowdy pirates."

"I used to think the same about Elizabeth," he replied. His face was downcast in sadness, James was beginning to think that Synnove would fall for the same rouge charm that Elizabeth had fallen for.

"Call her name,' Gillette suggested simply.

"And why pray tell, should I do that?" he replied, "she is having fun, I should let her be."

"Just call out her name," he insisted, losing his impatiently ever so slightly.

"Synnove!" James called to her as Gillette had instructed.

Hearing the familiar voice Synnove immediately turned from Jack Sparrow, her hair whipping around in the wind as she moved rapidly. A beautiful smile crossed over her face making her ocean coloured eyes glitter fantastically. James felt his heartbeat quicken accompanied by a strange stirring sensation in the pit of his stomach. Her smile made him feel that way and he could not help but softly return the gesture. He wanted nothing more than to stride right over to her and demand that Sparrow be gone immediately, but he was in position to give one of the two Captain's orders, however something told him Barbossa would not mind one bit. James continued to stare at Synnove, the rest of the world appearing to dissolve around him, leaving nothing but her smiling face and her blue eyes.

His daze was not to last forever though as Gillette nudged his arm with his own and brought James' attention to him before he spoke again. "You may not make her laugh like that pirate does, but I can assure you. Miss Synnove only smiles like that when you are around," Gillette said smirking. "I told you that you worry too much."

"Perhaps you are correct," James conceded. Without another word Gillette slipped away, smirking to himself as he returned to his assigned post. Not that the pirates had noticed his absence, for once Gillette was glad for a lack of discipline aboard the vessel.

James slowly approached Synnove, thinking over what he was going to say. He watched as she continued to smile at him, her lips curving happily upwards. James moved slowly due to the fact that his mind was racing along with his heartbeat. He had gone over and over what he was going to say to her, but he knew there was no easy way to broach such a difficult subject. However, he knew that it would be even worse if he ignored the obvious facts which were staring him straight in the face. Synnove moved towards him as well, helping to close the gap between them, her pace much faster than his own.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Her hands reached up to cup his face and force his shifting eyes to rest on her.

"I am feeling much better, thanks to you."  
"And Mr. Gibbs, he was the one who did most of the work."

"Perhaps, but I prefer to thank you instead. You stayed by my bedside without any decent conversation for several days, I am sure that you are feeling rather neglected at the moment," he said quickly scanning her face for a reaction.

"Nonsense darling," she said waving her hand dismissively at him. "You were excellent company. Why you agreed with everything that I said, it is something I could get used to."

James raised an eyebrow at her, "is that so?" he asked seriously.

Synnove mimicked James by raising her eyebrow as well, "indeed," she said trying her best to look and sound serious.

James' arms darted to Synnove's waist, holding her in place with one hand and poking her side with the other hitting a particular pressure point which caused her body to jump away from James. More laughter erupted from her lips as he continued to poke her in the sides and revel in her laughter.

"Do you enjoy mocking me dear Synnove?" he whispered in her ear. So close that his breath made contact with her skin.

"Have you not heard that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery?" she asked.

Ever so cautiously James nuzzled his face into her neck, hiding his face in her hair while he placed a kiss on her pale neck. Synnove let out a small almost inaudible gasp at James' actions, a smile of pure happiness crossing her face. This was also the only time that James had kissed her first and after so long of silently wishing and hoping, James Norrington was hers, Synnove could not remember a time when she had been so incredibly happy. Synnove turned around in his arms, thankful that he had stopped tickling her. James cupped her chin and pushed her face upwards towards his own. More slowly than before James leaned down to Synnove's level and kissed her lips softly again and again, feeling her small fingers tighten in the fabric of his clothing. His other hand held onto her waist, pushing her body up against his until there was no space left between them. James' kisses began to grow faster and more desperate, as if he thought that if he stopped she would disappear. Synnove responded just as eagerly, happy that James was expressing his affection, even if he was doing so in full view of their pirate companions. She felt his tongue run along her bottom lip wordlessly asking her to open up to him. Synnove's lips eased open and James tongue gently entered, his grip on her body tightened as he rubbed his tongue against hers, back and forth. James was gentle with her, treating her almost as if she would break under his touch, unlike Stefan who had forced himself upon her in such an overbearing manner. Synnove smiled into the kiss about to deepen it before a sharp whistle interrupted them.

"I didn't think that you had it in you, former Commodore Norrington," Captain Jack Sparrow said as he walked over to stand by the still entwined pair.

James gave the Captain a decidedly unimpressed look and pulled Synnove closer in an attempt to hide her from the pirate's ever wandering gaze. "Yes, well I hardly think that you are in any sort of position to judge what I am and am not capable of Captain," he spat.

Synnove batted at his chest with her hand, "play nice," she whispered to him. "I am sorry for his behaviour Captain Sparrow, James has not been feeling very well lately so you must forgive him," Synnove said turning her gaze from James and settling it on one of the two Captains.

"Your lover never has been too fond of me dear Synnove. The first day he met me he tried to kill me, so much for manners of an English gentleman," Captain Sparrow said flashing his brilliant smile at Synnove and raising his eyebrows.

"You are a pirate though Captain and as you said James was the Commodore, I believe that such a reaction is completely in line with protocol. Why if you had met at sea I have no doubt that you would have tried to kill James instead, am I correct?" James smirked at the look on Sparrow's face and lightly rubbed Synnove's back with his thumb.

Captain Sparrow had the good sense to break Synnove's gaze, "yes well I suppose that you are correct, although if I were the Commodore and he were the pirate I would have given me a second chance," Sparrow said pausing for a moment before seemingly remembering what it was that he was going to say. "Especially after having saved a damsel in distress from meeting a decidedly watery end, which I didn't have to do I might add. Would have made my life much easier if I did not, I'll tell you that for nothing."

"If you were the Commodore you would have been bound by the law just as I was. It would be either you hang the pirate or see yourself hang as punishment for not fulfilling your duty," James said with the same unimpressed look upon his face as before.

"There really is no such thing as a second chance is there?" Captain Sparrow said, looking out over the sea with a strange look upon his face.

"Pirates have been branded as such for their crimes against their fellow man. Perhaps not every pirate deserves such a brutal title, but one cannot put the innocent masses in danger for the sake of one who has earned themselves the title of pirate," Synnove said interrupting the conversation between James and Captain Sparrow. "I am sure that you would think the same way if the tables were turned Captain."

Captain Sparrow grunted in response, his eyes still cast out over the ocean, "I don't suppose we will ever know love."

"If you are done with us Captain I would like to have a private word with Synnove," James said.

"Yes. Yes alright off you go then," Captain Sparrow waved his arms dismissively waving the pair away.

James took Synnove's hand in his own and pulled her along behind him through the many levels of the ship until they reached the room that they shared. Keys, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere followed along behind them.

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath, Synnove was not going to be happy about what he had to say, but someone had to say it. Although he wanted nothing more than to stay with her for the rest of his days, he could not be so selfish as to deprive her of the future that she so rightly deserved. When he first started this journey he promised himself that he would be nothing more than her guardian and protector until she reached home. James had had to keep reminding himself of his duties, but the more time he spent with her the more it became obvious that this was not to be the case any longer. She had captivated him easily, but he would have to set her free. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked straight at Synnove's smiling face as she sat down on the bed as he had directed.

He cleared his throat before finally speaking, his tone one of complete seriousness, "I fear that I have nothing to offer you Synnove. My family most likely believe that I am dead therefore all of my assets would have been sold long ago. I have no home of my own and no form of employment to keep food on the table and I do not see that changing anytime in the future," James let out a sigh of unmasked frustration. "For heaven's sake Synnove, you are a noble and far above my own station even when I held a position within the Royal Navy," he spoke lowly. A slight tinge of venom could be heard in his normally soft voice. James' eyes were focused on the floor rather than Synnove's intense gaze. "We have to think of this rationally. Your Father would never allow us to marry; he may even go as far as to disown you for even thinking about marrying below your station. I know how much you love and miss you family. I could never ask you to give that up. I have nothing to offer you my love. Absolutely nothing," he repeated, never once raising his eyes from the floor. He was ashamed and there was no way that he could hide such an obvious feeling.

A deep scowl crossed Synnove's face before she finally spoke, "I told you that I love you knowing full well what position you are in James Norrington. If my Father were to ban us from marrying then I would elope with you and we would find somewhere else to live, I would never leave you. If you think that any of the things that you mentioned would change my mind about the way that I feel about you, then you obviously do not know me as well as I had hoped," she said. Synnove stared straight into James' eyes, showing him that she had nothing to hide. She loved him and nothing could or would ever change that. Synnove waited for James to say something more, but he continued to stare at her, not saying a word. There was a blank expression on his face mixed with another emotion which Synnove could not place and it was driving her mad. With each passing second doubt began to grow in her heart. "Perhaps this is all my fault," she said vaguely. "When I told you that I loved you for the first time it seemed that death was certain for us all. Being the dutiful man that I know you are, you probably only said that you loved me because you wished for me to die happy. I should have known that someone like you could never fall in love with someone like me, I should have known," silent tears slipped down Synnove's cheeks as she turned her gaze away from James. She wished that he would say something, anything that would prove her thoughts wrong, but his silence spoke volumes. Her sadness snapped into anger as she said, "despite your noble intentions Mr. Norrington I feel as though you owe me an apology for stringing me along for so long. I do not wish to speak to you again until you can manage such an apology. Good day to you Mr. Norrington," Synnove said turning on her heel and striding out of their shared room. Before she made it much further she felt James' fingers grasp around her wrist tightly. He wrenched her backwards roughly until she collided with his body. His arm wrapped around her waist, her back pressing to his chest. Synnove struggled against his grip wanting nothing more than to run away to a place where he could not see the tears that she was holding in fall.

"Do not dare think that Synnove," James said, his voice was low with a sad tone to it. "I could never lie about the way that I feel."

"Then why are you pushing me away James?"

"Because I have no right to ask such things from you, it is not right. When we reach your homeland it would be best if we simply parted ways. That way you will not have to answer undesirable questions from your family members and you can live the rest of your life as the Countess that you were born to be."

"Then I fear that I will be the unhappiest Countess to ever live if you are not by my side," Synnove said quietly. Her face turned upwards to study James' to look for any sign of regret for his earlier words.

"You are being overdramatic Synnove. You will find a man of your own standing to marry and he will make you happier than I ever could," he said letting out a frustrated sounding sigh.

At that sound Synnove felt her heart drop into her stomach, "you are a fool if you think that. However, I know that you will come to your senses and regret the words that you have spoken today and as soon as you do, know that I will forgive you. Until then James I think it would be best if you would leave me to my own devices." Synnove broke away from James, tugging her arm out of his grip and darting out of the room.

Holding back her tears Synnove made her way down to the brig of the ship where she knew that she would be alone. Finding a suitable barrel Synnove sat down and finally allowed herself to cry properly, knowing that no one would be around to see her. She buried her face in her hands and let out heaving sobs until she could not breathe properly any longer. Synnove may have told James that she knew that he would change his mind, but she had said it more to settle her own heart than because she believed it to be true.

Synnove stayed down in the brig until she was sure that night had fallen then she made her way back up the layers of stairs and into her shared room. A lone candle sat still burning on the chair beside the bed. It illuminated enough of the room so that Synnove could make out the outline of James lying on his side turned away from her, apparently asleep as he made no move to greet her. Keys lay next to him, watching Synnove move about the room as she got ready for bed. As gently as possible Synnove threw back the sheets and slipped between them slowly so that she would not wake James then blew out the light of the candle. The last thing she wanted right now was to have an awkward conversation with him which would send more tears rolling down her cheeks. Not that Synnove thought that it would be possible for her to cry any more than she already had that day, surely there was some sort of limit to how much one could cry in one day? She rolled over so that she was facing James' back. She fought every urge within her to reach out and touch him, to have him wish her a good night, to take everything he had said back, but she knew that would not happen tonight. Keys wiggled up the bed to be closer to Synnove, placing his paws on top of her arms and sniffing at her face, his wet nose intruding on her personal space. She smiled weakly at the dog before wrapping her arms around him and placing her head next to his. With a bit more shuffling the dog decided that he was comfortable and closed his eyes, Synnove quickly following suit, but not before whispering almost silently, "good night min kärlek."

* * *

Sorry to disappoint my lovelies! Just when you thought that everything was going well for the pair I go and do that to them, I really am a terribly mean authoress.  
Please leave a review!


	46. Someone Like You

Synnove and James had not spoken for several long days now, days made even longer by the silence radiating between them. Every time that James snuck a look at Synnove he could see that her eyes were a sad light grey colour as opposed to their regular joyful blue colour and he knew that it was all his fault. Synnove kept her distance from him, choosing instead to spend her daylight hours in the company of Yulia and Antanasia, only returning to their room once night had fallen and she knew that James was still upon the top deck. By the time that James made his way back to their room Synnove was already asleep, avoiding him as much as was possible on a ship of limited size. Several times in the middle of the night he had woken to hear her softly crying next to him. James had to fight every instinct within him that was demanding that he pull her to him and hold her until she stopped. What she did not know was that the pain she was feeling was equalled by his own, however James was far more practiced at concealing heartache than she.

He watched her as she walked up the stairs and onto the top deck. From where he was standing she would not see him, but he watched her every move from a distance. Her face was downcast, watching where her feet were going rather than taking in her surroundings. She made her way over to railing and leant over it, looking down at the churning sea beneath the ship. James continued to watch her from a distance as he went about completing the orders that he had been given by Captain Barbossa. He reluctantly tore his eyes from watching her and turned back to his work scrubbing the deck.

"Good morning Synnie!" Captain Sparrow called as he stepped down the stairs and crossed the deck to stand beside her.  
"Good morning Captain Sparrow," she replied listlessly.

"Call me Jack please love," he said flashing his brilliant white toothed smile. "I know we didn't get off on the best foot, what with your lover being his usual charming self."

"He is not my lover any longer Jack," she admitted turning her gaze to the Captain.

"Oh?" he questioned raising an eyebrow.

"He made it quite clear that he does not think himself worthy of me and that subsequently when we reach Sweden we are to go our separate ways."

"If you ask me love, the man is a fool. I was always rooting for the old commodore, seemed like he needed someone on his side, even if we were to be enemies," Jack said trailing off.

"Perhaps it was I who was the fool, at least one of us was thinking with their mind as opposed to their heart."

"I would have thought the commodore would have fought tooth and nail for what he wanted," Jack said before changing the subject completely. "Now have you seen all of me ship love?"

Synnove could not help but smile weakly at the rouge, "no, I have not Captain. I have only seen the top deck, my room and the brig."

"The brig love? What were you doing down there?"

"I was looking for somewhere secluded," she admitted without saying too much about why she really went down there.

"Would you like to see my Captain's quarters love? I promise they will not disappoint."

"I think ye will find Jack be meaning me quarters lass," Captain Barbossa interrupted striding over to the pair.

"So you two share a room?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Jack sleeps on the floor as it be me ship and me private quarters," Barbossa explained.

Jack scrunched up his face and looked away, his eyes falling on Norrington. The former commodore was staring up at Synnove, his features darkening as he made eye contact with Jack. The Captain simply flashed Norrington a bright smile and turned back to Synnove. "So love, how would you like a full tour of the Black Pearl?"

"I would enjoy it very much, but only if it is alright with Captain Barbossa as well, I would hate to step on any toes."

"I don't see any problem with it lassie, just don't be letting Jack talk you into trying out the bed," Barbossa commented with a smirk on his face.

Synnove's eyes widened at his words, "thank you for your advice Captain."

"Shall we?" Jack asked extending his arm to Synnove and leading her away from Barbossa. He deliberately walked her past James at a slower pace, smirking at the man on his knees and pulling Synnove in closer.

James snarled as he watched the pair walk away, it was just like Sparrow to take any opportunity he could get. He felt his anger rising as he saw Sparrow move closer than could ever be appropriate to his Synnove. As much as he felt like charging after the pirate and introducing him to the sharpest point of his sword, he could not do it. Synnove was smiling for the first in a very long time, even if she was smiling at Sparrow.

The rest of the day James was in the worst of moods, a deep scowl permanently taking up residence on his face. The rest of the crew kept their distance from him, despite being self proclaimed fearless pirates. He was glad when the sun finally went down and he could retire back to the room he shared with Synnove. He had seen nothing of her since he watched her leave with Sparrow. It caused his blood to boil when he thought of the things Sparrow could be doing with his Synnove. James thought that it would not be long before she gazed at Sparrow the way she used to gaze at him, at that thought James slammed his fist into the wall in front of him. A soft female voice let out a gasp and James opened his eyes to see Yulia standing not too far from him.

"Would you care to share what is troubling you so Mr. Norrington?" she asked, forcing her voice not to shake as she saw the look of pure fury in James' eyes.

"It is nothing," he muttered.

"If it were nothing you would not be so easily angered."

"Fine then, it is none of your business, does that make more sense to you?" James spat.

"Considering how depressed my friend Synnove has been lately, I do think it is my business. If you are angry at the amount of time she spent in the company of the younger Captain then you should know that she only did so to distract her mind from you. I can only imagine how it must plague her to be so close to what she wants most and know that she is not wanted in return."

"I do want her!" James exclaimed reaching the end of his tether.

"I do not believe you Mr. Norrington. Anyone can throw the word love around, but few really mean in. I have always thought that loving someone meant that you would do anything to be with that person, no matter what the consequences would be."

"I could not be so selfish as to tear her away from her family."

"So you decided what would be best for her? Instead of telling Synnove what was going to happen, you should have trusted her enough to let her to make her own decision," Yulia said.

"And if she came to the same conclusion that I did?"

"Then at least you both would have reached the same conclusion, rather than one dictating to the other. But we both know that if you had asked Synnove to make the choice there is no doubt that she would have chosen you over anything and everything else," she explained. "Now if you will excuse me Mr. Norrington I have to go and find my sister." Yulia lowered her head and dashed quickly away. Her face was bright red with embarrassment; she could not believe that she had spoken to the man in such a way. But she knew that Synnove would not give him such hard words, so in her place Yulia had done it. Yulia smiled slightly to herself as she continued up the stairs, walking straight into Groves on the way. Although she had not been looking for him, she was glad that she had found him. Groves offered her his arm and the pair ascended to the top deck to look for the ever elusive Antanasia Osmosechu, knowing that she would be eagerly questioning various pirates about themselves and their pasts.

James threw the door to his room open and walked in, his bad mood disappearing the moment he laid eyes on Synnove. She was curled up in a ball with her arms around the dog, facing the door which he had just entered through. From what James could see Synnove was fast asleep, her breathing slowed to the pace of sleep and her eyes closed.

He pulled off his tattered coat and unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it away from his body. James wished there was a mirror in the room so that he could check on the bandages still encasing his body, but he would have to be satisfied with going without for tonight. He would have to get Mr. Gibbs to check on his progress tomorrow, just to make sure that nothing was infected. James would have asked Synnove, but due to their current predicament he thought better of it. Slowly he lowered himself onto his side of the bed and pulled the covers back up over his body. James rolled onto his side in bed and face Synnove, knowing that his thoughts would keep him awake for several more hours until exhaustion took over. Not for the first time James Norrington was regretting his decision, he had never missed Synnove more than when she was lying silently next to him. He had made a decision based on what he believe would be best, but best for who? James knew that Synnove was in love with him as he was with her, they were a perfect match on all accounts but one. But was he really going to let birthright stand in the way of all that he desired? He had felt so sure of his decision when he had first made it, believing that morality and duty were on his side, but hearing Synnove cry made him question his resolve.

She had told him that when he was ready to apologise she would accept him with open arms, but he could not find the words to do so. Despite all of the promises that he had made to himself, all he wanted was Synnove back by his side again. After a week of silence between them James admitted to himself that he was wrong to push her away. The longer he took to apologise the more difficult doing so would become. Each time he caught her sad blue eyes with his own his words of apology died in his throat.

James watched Synnove sleep beside him, her chest rising and falling with each breath and her lips slightly parted. Her face was turned towards him and he could just make out her features in the light which was coming in through the window. As he studied her further James noticed that Synnove was not sleeping peacefully. Her eyes were moving rapidly beneath her eyelids and every so often she would twitch. She whimpered and muttered something indistinguishable and her hands gripped onto the sheets tightly. James gently reached out to her and stroked her pale cheek with the tips of his fingers. For a moment Synnove stilled, but once his touch was gone whatever she was dreaming of was disturbing her once again. Her muttering became louder until James could hear her begging, "please someone save me! I cannot hold on for much longer! Do not let me drown! Please!"

"Synnove? You are not drowning, you are safe," he called to her.

Synnove tossed and turned, "please, someone please!" Keys, being the ever vigilant beast he was slept through Synnove's cries of despair. "Please do not let her take me. I do not want to go! Please!"

James sat up and grabbed Synnove by the shoulders, dragging her body close to his own, "I have you Synnove, nothing is going to hurt you," he whispered to her. His arms were tightly around her waist, holding her close to his body, the thin material of her clothing pressing against his skin.

Her eyes shot open in surprise, "James?" she whimpered as she looked up at him. Her eyes were watery and her face was panic stricken and flushed. A moment later her body became rigid in his grip and she tore her eyes away from his. "Please do not touch me," she whispered pulling her body far away from James. Her breathing slowed as she calmed down, but she would not look up and meet eyes with James. She knew the moment that she did she would crumble back into his arms, and nothing good would come of that. Synnove had to be strong, once she returned home she would be without him, and she would feel a sense of loneliness that everything up until now could not compete with.

"Are you alright Synnove?" he asked, trying to catch a glimpse of her face.

"I will be fine. It was just a simple nightmare, I have been having them for a while," she replied, her voice flat and emotionless.

"Do you wish for me to get you a cup of water or something else to make you feel better?" he asked watching Synnove closely.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his, a hint of a glare crossing her sad features. "I do not think that a cup of water will do much to make me feel better. Though I appreciate your concern Mr. Norrington," she said.

"You do not have to call me that. I thought that I was James to you," James reached out to Synnove and turned her face towards his.

"You were, that is true," she said. "But if I am to forget about you, as you insist so vehemently, then I need to distance myself from you, calling you by your given name will only encourage familiarity between us."  
"But –" James began before Synnove cut him off.

"Please Mr. Norrington, do not make this more difficult than it already is. I think it would be best if I simply tried to fall asleep again. Good night to you." Synnove shook herself from his grip and turned her head away from him. Slowly she lay back down and pushed her face into the pillow in an attempt to hide the tears that were threatening to once again escape.

James let out a sigh, "alright then, goodnight Synnove," he said quietly. He stayed laying on his side starring at her back and wishing he knew the words to make everything as it once was.


	47. Fall Into Sleep

Another day bleed through to darkest night as James crept below deck and back to his room. He followed his familiar routine of partially disrobing and climbing into bed next to the deeply sleeping Synnove. Feeling the bed move beneath her she rolled over onto her side and faced James, her eyes still closed in sleep. He studied her face, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her.

"Goodnight my Synnove," James whispered turning onto his stomach and making himself comfortable. He wanted to reach his arm out and pull her towards him, to comfort her and shoo her nightmares away. But James still had no idea how to say what he most desperately wanted to say. Instead his fingers closed around the necklace that she had given him, he brought the cold stone to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. He placed the necklace on the pillow next to his face which he buried in his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

James opened his eyes what he felt like was a few hours later, but his surroundings were not the same as they earlier. The room he was sleeping in was most definitely not on a ship as he could not feel the constant rocking and rolling common to being at sea. He had been sleeping on a small bed, lying on his stomach with Synnove sleeping next to him and Keys on the opposite side. But now he was lying on his back and neither Synnove nor the dog was anywhere to be seen. James began to panic as he sat upright in bed; the pain in his back was mysteriously gone, replaced by a dull throbbing pain in his side. He threw back the blankets away from his body only to discover that he was only wearing a long white shirt, very different to what he had been wearing when he first fell asleep. The dull throbbing in his side mutated to feeling like someone was forcing needles into his skin so he pulled up his shirt to see what the problem was. James' entire stomach was covered in bandages, the left was coloured red in patches with what he assumed must be his blood. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before forcing himself to his feet; he had to find out what was going on here. James had to find Synnove; she would know what was happening, that was if she was even somewhere in this strange house, or if she was even willing to speak with him.

The bedroom door opened behind him and in stepped just the woman he was going to look for.

"James darling, what are you doing? You know that you need your rest," Synnove said as she walked into the room. Not waiting for an answer she made her way over to his side, placing her arms gently around his waist and taking some of his weight. She helped him sit back down on the bed again and pulled the covers back up over his chest. Synnove patted down the covers until they sat perfectly without a wrinkle, smiling at him she then tucked a stray piece of his hair behind his ear. It was then that he noticed the ring on her wedding finger, it was a golden band with a medium sized sapphire sitting in middle, around the outside of the sapphire were diamond stones in the shape of flower petals. James most certainly did not remember marrying Synnove, but there was no other conclusion that his mind could come to, he had somehow made Synnove his wife.

"I know that you must be tired of spending so long cooped up in bed, but the Doctor said that it would be for the best. He also said that in a few days we can get you up and moving around the house, but until then please stay put my darling. You know how much I worry about you," Synnove pleaded running her fingers through his hair, which he had now realised was much shorter than it had been before he woke up.

"I'm sorry," James said "I just wanted to find you."

Synnove gently cupped James chin and brought his lips to hers in a soft kiss, "I will let you off this time my love, but only because you know the right things to say to make me weak."

She moved away from James and began opening the curtains that he had not noticed were there until then. As she moved about he could see that her stomach had a slight bump to it, one that he had only seen on women who were with child, his eyes widened at the realisation.

"You're pregnant!" James exclaimed pointing towards her stomach.

Synnove let out a light laugh at his words and gently rubbed her hand over her stomach, "and I wonder whose fault that would be," she said returning to him and perching on the side of the bed. "The Doctor said that you might have problems remembering some things after the accident and that I will need to be there to help you remember," a worried look crossed her face as she slowly trailed her fingers across his cheek.

"What accident?" he asked confused beyond belief at the current situation.

"The ship that you were captaining was attacked by a fleet of pirates. I have been informed that you and your crew managed to overpower then, but not before you were struck down. I am just so glad that you have finally awoken properly, it has been nearly a month since the attack," Synnove replied. "I feared that you would not make it."

"I am sorry that I made you worry so my love," he said. "If it does not trouble you too much may I ask what I was struck down by? I have a terrible aching in my side."

"The Doctor said that you were injured from sword battles with numerous pirates but what caused you the most damage were the shards of wood which imbedded themselves in your body when the final pirate ship went down," Synnove explained. "You were lucky to escape infection or amputation being so far out at sea when the attack struck. But let us not dwell on such a depressing topic, especially now that you are awake. Stay here while I go and get the boys for you, they have been waiting a very long time to see you," she kissed his cheek again and swept from the room.

"What boys?" James asked, but he received no reply as Synnove was already out of earshot.

Mere moments later James could hear the thumping of multiple pairs of feet as they came thumping down the hallway. He raised an eyebrow, who could Synnove be bringing to him in what appeared to be his private chambers?

"Papa!" a small voice squealed from the doorway. James looked up in time to see a small boy come running into the room and jump on the bed. The boy could not have been any older than five, with medium length brown hair and green eyes the same shade as James'. Next Synnove re-entered the bedroom, two smaller, much younger boys holding each of her hands. The two boys were obviously twins as they appeared to be the same age, one being slightly taller than the other, they both had black hair the same shade as Synnove's, but they had the same eyes as James and their older brother.

James starred dumbstruck as Synnove brought the twin boys closer to the bed and helped them up so that they could join him. Keys trotted into the room behind Synnove, looking a little more grey around the muzzle than he had previously, his tail wagging continuously as Synnove helped him too up onto the bed. The three boys certainly looked like him, but surely he would remember such a drastic change in his life, but then again, he had seemingly forgotten all about making Synnove his wife and the various things that went along with such a commitment. His thoughts were interrupted as the oldest boy wiggled himself closer to James and sat in his lap, the boy leant his head back against James chest and smiled up at him.

"Be careful with your Father sweetheart, you know he isn't well at the moment," Synnove told the boy.

"Sorry Mamma," the boy mumbled.

Synnove gathered up her skirt as neatly as possible and sat on the bed as well, her back leaning against the pillows she had placed there, sitting next to the twin boys. She smoothed out her dress and the smaller of the twins wiggled himself around so that he was leaning back against his Mother. Synnove had been studying James' face intently since the boys had entered the room and she was disappointed to see no look of recognition cross his face. His brow was furrowed with confusion, as if he could not believe that the three boys sitting next to him were his sons. She knew that James would not admit such a lapse in memory, so she would wait until the boys were distracted before saying anything that might upset them. As luck would have it within a few moments they lost interest in sitting quietly and directed their attention towards Keys instead, playing with the reluctant dog.

"James?" she called, linking her fingers with his and moving closer to him and leaning lightly against him.

"Yes my love," he answered, a large smile plastered across his face.

Synnove smiled back at James before asking, "You do not remember their names do you?"

He looked away, ashamed, "I am sorry, but I cannot remember a thing. I do not even remember making you my wife," his finger trailed over the gold band of her wedding ring.

"It is alright my love, you will remember everything in time," she turned into James and kissed his neck, "we just have to be patient."

He moved his arms so that the wrapped around her, his hands resting gently on the bump of her stomach, "I am glad that I at least remember you."

"So am I," Synnove replied, looking away lest she cry again for James. "Our oldest is James Lawrence Norrington II, but we both call him Jamie."

"He has my name?"  
"I could not think of a better name for our first born," she replied smiling at the boy who was now lying next to the dog imitating every small sound the beast was making. "The taller of our twins is Theodore Bjorn and the shorter is Philip Soren," she explained.

"The first names being after Gillette and Groves I am gathering?"

"Well, they are like family to us, so we could not have thought of better names. But I should remind you that you have been on first name basis with them both for a few years now," she explained.

"I see," James rubbed Synnove's stomach and asked, "what about this little one?"

"Elinor Eyedis," Synnove announced, placing her hand over James'.

"What if it is a boy?"

"She is going to be a girl," Synnove replied simply.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have never been wrong before, despite how much you have doubted me each time." She leant over and kissed James, pressing her lips softly against his. As she went to break the kiss James cupped the back of her head and pulled Synnove back in for a longer kiss.

"Eww!" a pair of small voices squealed. James and Synnove separated in time to see their twin boys giggling and pulling faces and their parent's display of affection. Jamie on the other hand looked thoroughly unimpressed that James and Synnove were absorbed in one another rather than paying attention to him and his younger brothers.

Synnove removed her arms from around James and grabbed Theodore, tickling him and forcing a squeal and giggle from his mouth. Philip, feeling his brother's distress pounced in between Synnove and Theodore and tried to tickle his Mother, but to no avail. She easily had the smallest boy on his back in a giggling pile like his twin in a matter of seconds. Jamie never being one to miss out on anything that his brothers were having fun with, jumped onto Synnove, joining in on the miniature battle. Keys watched from his position down the bottom of the bed, his tail wagging quickly back and forth. All the while James looked on, smiling at the family he could not remember being a part of, but he knew that this was where he belonged.

An out of breath Jamie wiggled out from under the pile of small giggling bodies, unceremoniously pushing his younger brother off of him and moving over the his Father. The boy panted out of breath and slightly red faced as he sat back down on James' lap, being very careful this time to sit himself down lightly.

"Are you alright my little one?" Synnove asked Jamie, cupping his chin and turning his face to meet hers.

"I am fine Mamma!" he replied smiling widely up at her. James could not help but smile as well as he recognised Synnove's brilliant smile on the face of his eldest son. The twins remained lying on their backs giggling amongst themselves at some shared joke that only they could understand.

"Mamma, can you and Papa read us a book?" Jamie asked, seemingly forgetting about everything else that was happening. Synnove gave him a raised eyebrow look before the boy spoke again. "Oh sorry Mamma, I meant please?"

"Of course sweetheart, run downstairs and choose the book that you want," she replied. "Take your brothers with you as well please and choose a book you all like!" Synnove called to the three boys who were already off the bed and darting down the hallway.

"What do you think darling?" Synnove asked smiling proudly at James.

"They are amazing Synnove, there was once a time when I never could have even dreamed about having a life like this. You made this possible, you gave me this," he said starring at the woman who was now his wife. "I love you."

"I love you as well James," she replied. "Now tell me, how are you feeling? Do you need something more to lessen your pain? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"I feel positively fine, better than I have in a long time actually," he replied. "But I am rather confused about some things."

"What is the last thing that you remember darling? If I know that I might be able to help you fill in the blanks."

"The last thing I remember is being on the _Black Pearl_ with Sparrow and Barbossa a few days after I told you that we could not be together. How on earth did I win back your affection?"

"You never lost my affection darling. Whatever I said to you during that time was said only out of pain."  
"But how did I do it? I need to know Synnove," James said, his voice taking on a pleading tone.

"Well if you insist," she said smiling, leaning backward and kissing his cheek. "You caught me in your arms and pinned me to the wall. I tried my best to escape, thinking that you were one of the pirates trying to have your way with me. However, once you kissed me I realised who it was. You held me in place and simply said 'I am sorry' and that was all that it took," Synnove explained. "Everything worked itself out from there. Sure, we had some rough patches, but it was always obvious that we were made for each other. Nothing could keep us apart for very long," she wriggled closer to James and nestled herself onto his chest. She rubbed her hand over the scar on his chest that was showing through his half opened shirt.

"That was all it took, are you sure?" he asked resting his chin on top of her head.

"Of course I am sure, now please stop fretting love."

They were interrupted once again by the sound of small thumping feet running up the stairs back into the bedroom. Jamie was carrying a book in one of his hands and his two younger brothers were trailing behind, he placed the book on the bed gently and began climbing up onto the bed. Synnove removed herself from James' tight grip helped her sons up onto the bed before settling herself back down. James' arms instinctively wound themselves back around her waist, resting on the rise of her stomach. Nothing could wipe the large smile from his face as his oldest son deposited himself onto James' lap and leant over to look at the book as Synnove opened it.

The twins were too young to understand much of what the book was about, but they lay still, petting Keys and listening to Synnove speak. Jamie however, found the book fascinating, pointing at the pictures and attempting to read some of the easier words by himself. The smile of James' face grew as he realised Jamie was shaping up to be an intelligent young man, even at such a young age and he had no doubt that the twins would possess the same amount of intelligence.

As Synnove continued to read aloud James could feel his eyes begin to drift closed, he fought against the urge to sleep for as long as he possibly could, but there came a time when he could not fight the urge any longer. His eyes drifted closed and his body slumped down against Synnove, his face nuzzled into her neck.

* * *

When he next opened his eyes he could feel the rocking of the ship beneath him and he let out a disappointed sigh. All of the wonderful things that he had just seen had only been a dream. The three, almost four children, the home that they shared and the fact that Synnove was his wife were nothing more than figments of his fitful imagination. He could still feel her body resting against his own, but when he looked for Synnove he found her still lying on her side, turned away from him. James was furious at his mind for conjuring such impossible images, but he was even more furious with himself. Even if the future he saw was only a dream, it had felt so real and he wanted it to come true more than anything. James decided that he would follow the words of dream Synnove. He would take Synnove aside and ask for her forgiveness, even if it meant getting down on his knees and begging until she caved in. James Norrington would make sure that Synnove was his once again and he would do whatever it took to make the future he saw in his dream come to light.

* * *

What did you all think of this chapter? I know it is a tad on the strange side... but I did enjoy writing it!  
Elinor spelt that way is the same way which my middle name is spelt and I promise that is the only form of self-insert you will see in Serendipity.


	48. The Past Is Real

The morning started off rather disappointingly for James' taste. He had awoken again much later than he had planned and found that Synnove was already gone, the dog having left to follow her as well. James let out a sigh as he stared at the vacant space on the bed next to him, trailing his fingers over the dent her body had left in the mattress. The spot was still warm which suggested to James that Synnove had not been gone for very long. Today was the day that he would reclaim his Synnove and the he would never dare to let her go again. Once they were reunited he would never let anything come between them, he would destroy anything that threatened to rip them apart. James smiled, gently getting up from the bed and pulling his boots back on, he had resolve and nothing would stop him.

Synnove smiled weakly at Captain Sparrow as he attempted to entertain her, slipping his arm through hers and walking with her around the deck. The way he talked about his ship convinced Synnove that Captain Sparrow loved the _Black Pearl_ more than he loved anything else, people and treasure seemingly included. Sometimes it felt like Captain Sparrow was talking about a lover, sometimes it sounded as if he was talking about a much loved child. Her smile was half-hearted but she managed to make convincing sounds of enthusiasm as Captain Sparrow told her about each investment he had made to properly take care of his ship. Synnove soon discovered that the man cold talk for hours on end about his ship. She had been on her way to breakfast when Captain Sparrow had caught her attention and subsequently whisked her away from tour upon tour of the _Black Pearl_. Synnove had been instructed to call Captain Sparrow Captain Jack, but she did not wish for too much familiarity between them. After all, she still held hope that James would come to his senses and return to her, but as each day passed the likelihood of such a thing happened was diminishing. James avoided looking at her, as if doing so would cause him some form of great pain, not to mention the fact that he avoided her like the plague. After her nightmare, when James had wrapped his arms around her Synnove thought that he was finally ready to come back to her, but his comfort was purely out of instinct and had nothing to do with his feelings for her. Synnove was at the point now where she wished that James had never taken her into his arms, she wished that he had never kissed her and most of all, she wished that she had never fallen in love with James Norrington. Synnove never really stood a chance, she thought. He was so handsome, charming and protective of her. James made her feel like a princess, or at least how she imagined a princess must feel, always treating her the way no man had ever treated her before. When she was with James she felt like she could do anything, with him by her side, Synnove was invincible. But James no longer wanted to be with her and Synnove would have to face the reality that he was not coming back.

Out of the corner of her eye she studied Captain Jack Sparrow as he continued to talk enthusiastically. She had not heard a word that he had said during his latest tirade, but she had a fair idea of what he had been saying. It was true that he was a very handsome man, and he had a distinctive charm that was all his own. Captain Sparrow was full of passion and fire, something that Synnove had rarely seen in James. She sighed quietly making sure that Jack could not hear her as she bit back a lone tear that was threatening to fall. Synnove had come to the conclusion that James was finding being away from her so easy because his love for her was more of a love that friends have for one another. James must not feel passionate, strong love for her; else he would have never let her go so incredibly easily. He was not at all like James, but perhaps that was a good thing. Around Captain Jack maybe she could be convinced to forget about James. Her mind then drifted to the subject of Miss Elizabeth Swann, or Mrs. Turner as she would now be known.

"Captain Sparrow?" Synnove said interrupting the man in the middle of another ship riddled sentence.

"Call me Jack love, I've told you enough time for you to remember," he said winking at her.

"I am sorry," Synnove replied. Perhaps it would not be such a good idea to ask the question she was going to ask. But she needed to know, she could not simply brush the subject aside any longer.

"It's alright love. Now what was it that you were going to ask?"

"I am afraid it may be a rather awkward question, so please feel free to tell me if you do not wish to answer."

"I can't imagine any question being so bad as you make it out to be, but go ahead.

"What is Elizabeth like?"

Jack's face contorted rather unattractively as he thought about the woman in question, "she killed me," he said simply.

"What do you mean? Did she break your heart as well?"

"No, she literally killed me. Elizabeth chain me to me ship and the Kraken swallowed me whole, ergo, she killed me."

"That is terrible!" Synnove said, genuinely not believing how James could love such a cruel woman.

"Well it was either I get swallowed or everyone get swallow, so I suppose she selected the most utilitarian choice."

Synnove frowned, "I suppose that you are correct, in the utilitarian sense. Though I cannot see how she can justify such actions in any other moral sense."

Jack smiled brightly at Synnove, "everything has its flaws Synnie."

She raised an eyebrow at the Captain, but did not say anything against his use of a nickname. "Apart from that incident, what is the woman like?"

"Elizabeth Turner nee Swann, is a very beautiful woman. Long blonde hair, dark brown eyes the colour of chocolate, looks wonderful no matter what she wears, though she could not be persuaded to take said dress off so that I could make a comparison. She was by no means the delicate flower she came across as being. Elizabeth learnt how to wield a sword quite impressively, no match for myself of course, but still good. She is the Pirate King, but only because I was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Elizabeth was, shall I say, the lesser of two evils, the greater being old Barbossa up there," Captain Jack said pointing to the older Captain. "Doesn't change the fact that she killed me though, you never can trust a woman who would kill you, no matter how beautiful they happen to be."

"So Elizabeth is beautiful, strong, intelligent and cunning. She sounds like the perfect woman."

"In some men's taste," Captain Jack replied. It was true that he did have a passing fancy for Elizabeth, but his heart truly did belong to someone else. But he did not have any hope of seeing said woman again and even if he did see her, her was sure that the reunion would not be an altogether pleasant one. His love had a fiery temper, but that was how he liked it. Jack caught himself smiling at the memory of her, but quickly hid it lest Synnove thought he was enamoured with Elizabeth Turner.

"Do you think that James still loves her?" Synnove blurted out before she could stop herself. "She sounds like perfection; I would not blame him if he still loved her. Elizabeth is a woman that I could never hope to be."

"I could not say," Captain Jack said cautiously. "He chased her to Isle del Muerte, fought against pirates would could not die for the promise of her hand in marriage. He was all ready to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her in wedded bliss, maybe have a few children with her. But he saw how much she loved William Turner and he could not go through with it. Maybe that shows Norrington did not love her all that much?" he said, his voice raising at the end to form a question.

"They say that if you love something you should set it free and if it comes back to you that it is yours, but if it does not then it never was yours. James could have been testing that theory, which goes on to suggest that he did love and that he may still do."

"Norrington did an awful lot of pining over her."

Synnove's face fell further, if it was indeed possible. She had known that James felt deeply for Elizabeth, but she never imagined, never thought that his love ran so deep. She never dared ask him how much he loved Elizabeth for fear her heart would be broken, but now that her heart was already broken, the damage hearing the Captain's words was doing hurt little in comparison. "I understand," she said nodding simply.

Jack saw the look of utter despair on Synnove's face and knew that he had said the complete wrong thing. "I'm sorry love," he said.

"It is not your fault Captain and it is not James' fault either. One can never decide upon whom they want to love, it is not a head thing, love is a heart thing."

"If it's any help love, his eyes are always on you. Even when you do not realise it, Norrington is ever vigilant. I think that he does love you Synnie, I just do not know who he loves more."

"Thank you Captain," Synnove said, forcing a smile on her face. "I think that I should retire to my room for a while now. It would not do for your crew to have to witness a crying woman and I must admit that when I cry it is not all that attractive."

She spoke exceedingly calmly for a woman who was threatening to burst out into tears, but Jack was not about to stop her. He never did like things that cry, women, children, babies – no thank you! Jack dropped his arm from Synnove's and allowed her to slip away.

As she was making her way down the stairs she collided with just the man she was hoping to avoid. His chest was strong and solid as her forehead made contact with him. James' arms went out to stop her from falling, wrapping around her waist and holding her body flat against his.

Synnove raised her arms and pushed him away, breaking out of his grip. Her oceanic eyes rose briefly to meet with his. Synnove could see in his eyes that James did not like her being in the company of Captain Jack because he felt jealous, but it was nothing compared to the jealousy he had most likely felt when he saw William Turner with Elizabeth. There was still no fire or passion in his eyes for her and that would never change. He would forever be in love with Elizabeth and nothing she could do would change that. Synnove finally understood, James could not love her as much as he loved Elizabeth because Elizabeth was clearly the opposite of Synnove and a better woman. She turned away from James, refusing to look at the man she loved and would never have.

"Synnove!" James called out to her, but his call fell on deaf ears as she lowered her head and continued down the stairs back to their room.

James watched her go, not able to think of what to do or say. He had frozen again, his resolve having disappeared and Synnove had slipped away. James walked over to the nearest pirate holding a bottle of rum in his hands and yanked the bottle from the pirate's grip. In three easy swigs he had downed half of the remaining bottle. James had not touched alcohol in a very long time so the burn of the rum travelling down his throat caused him to wince. He had to hold back the gagging feeling that was brought up by how quickly he had downed the rum, but the rest was easily swallowed until the bottle he was holding was empty. James tipped the bottle back attempting to extract the last drops before passing the empty bottle back to the pirate he had taken it from. James hung his head in shame and walked over to the bucket of water which he would have to use to swab the deck. He staggered back and forth a bit as the alcohol began to affect his body, releasing the pleasant feeling of inebriation. It seemed that he was back where he started from, the scourge of piracy had become a gutless man who could not even confront Synnove and tell her what he so desperately needed to say. The alcohol running through his veins should have warmed him, but he felt cold to the very bone. He had to find some way to win her Synnove back, before she falls victim to the charms of pirates. Even if she refused to look at him, refused to be near him or even speak to him, he would find a way, he simply had to.

* * *

***hides behind James knowing that no one will throw anything at me for the risk of hitting dear Norrington* I know, I know – I am a terrible person for doing this to poor Synnove and James. I was not sure if I should have posted this part, but Synnove had to face the ghost of Elizabeth Turner nee Swann and what she meant to James one day. **

**[Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy where you do what will cause the greatest amount of happiness/pleasure to the greatest amount of people. John Stuart Mill wrote a lot on this subject and he worked for the real East India Trading Company.]**


	49. The Reason It Still Beats

James staggered about the ship, his hands clasping onto the railing in an attempt to steady himself and make it back downstairs without injuring himself or anyone else he came into contact with. Daylight had submerged into the ocean and became night and James found himself distracted by the stars lighting up the sky. He knew what he should be doing right now, yet he had no compulsion to do so. James had lived with the stabbing pain of heartbreak before but with the soothing feel of rum in his stomach and intoxication clouding his thoughts, he could finally function normally. His thoughts were still filled with Synnove, they way she moved and the way that she smiled at him with her enchanting ever-shifting blue eyes. These thoughts were happy thoughts, as opposed to his most prominent memories of seeing Synnove with tears streaking down her beautiful face and the saddest look of loss on her face that he had ever seen. He was quite frankly disgusted with himself, he knew he should have swept Synnove into his arms when she passed him on her way downstairs, but instead he buried himself in alcohol. James saw the way that Sparrow watched Synnove, talked to her and made her smile despite the fact that whenever he made eye contact with her she was crying. Alcohol was great at distracting James from what he really needed to be doing; perhaps that was why he was currently so inebriated. Truth be told he was terrified to talk to Synnove. She had every right to hate him, to reject him and never want to see him again. He dreaded Synnove telling him that she hated him and would never forgive him. Most of all he feared that she no longer loved him, that her heart had been stolen away from him by Captain Jack Sparrow.

James turned to look out over the sea, hoping that in some way the ocean, which had always been the constant thing in his life, would supply him with the courage that he needed to reclaim Synnove. Liquid courage had failed him, serving only to make him doubt himself and Synnove's love.

He heard the clicking of boots against the wooden floor of the top deck. The footsteps were coming closer to him and James could feel himself cringing. The last thing that he needed was another stern lecture from Gillette telling him what he already knew. Nor did he need more brotherly advice from Groves, again telling him what he already knew. While he was thankful for their concern, James was the only one who could do anything about the situation and nothing they said helped in the least. Even the normally shy and reserved Yulia Osmosechu had told him that he was being a fool. It seemed everyone had an opinion on the matter, but no one was willing to help him find the words that he needed to say.

The boots and the person they belonged to stopped next to James and as he looked across to his unwanted companion he could not help but roll his eyes. Captain Jack Sparrow stood next to him, his head resting on his hand as he smiled all knowingly at James.

"I for one am glad you and Synnie are not together any longer. It leaves room for more worthy men to have their turn. She is rather beautiful, if a tad on the pale side for my taste," Captain Jack said grinning wickedly at James. "I will not love her, but I will treat dear Synnie a sight better than you did Norrington. If there is one thing a pirate does best its show a lady a good time, and I'm a pirate lord mate. It doesn't get much better than me," he said more seriously.

James felt his anger rising, he turned to face the Captain. As swiftly as possible James shoved Jack back against the railing, his hand tightening around the Captain's throat and squeezing. "Synnove is mine!" he snarled. James could hardly remember a time when he had been so outraged by the words of a simple pirate.

"Don't you think that you should be telling her that rather than telling me mate?" Captain Jack asked, a large smile still plastered to his face. Norrington's hand around his throat was beginning to make it difficult for Captain Jack to breathe.

"I would thank you to learn you place, pirate," James spat.

Captain Jack raised a finger to point out the obvious fact that he was the superior, being the Captain, but the anger flashing in James' eyes silently told him to hold his tongue.

"You will not look at Synnove with your wicked wandering eyes; she is far too beautiful for the likes of you, nor will you speak to Synnove in an attempt to woo her into your chambers. It may have escaped your notice Captain, but Synnove is not like your Tortugan whores, therefore I fail to see why she would have even the slightest interest in you or anything that you have to offer."

"I think you will find that it was she who sought me out for a rather intriguing conversation. Synnie seems to be a rather curious creature and I would be more than willing to answer any queries she may have. It is true that I may be below her in station, but I fully intend to have her below me," the Captain said with another wicked smile crossing his face. He would not be threatened by the former Commodore Norrington. That and the fact he had had no actual designs on Synnie, he just took great joy in winding Norrington up, it was after all an easy task. Then perhaps Norrington would see the error of his ways, get over himself and claim his woman before another man, one who would never let her go, crossed her path.

"Keep yourself away from my Synnove. If any part of your body touches hers I will personally cut it off. That is not a threat Captain, that is a promise," James said. His green eyes were flashing with anger as he finally loosened his grip on Captain Jack's neck, allowing the man to take a much needed deep breath. Before Captain Jack could get the final word in James turned on his heel and stalked downstairs.

By the time he made it back to his room Synnove was already fast asleep. She was sprawled rather inelegantly across the bed, one arm wrapped around the dog that was also spread out over the bed and the other arm holding tightly onto her pillow. James smiled down at her amazed at how quickly his anger ebbed away when he saw Synnove. Due to the way that she was sleeping, it was impossible for James to find any room for himself on the bed. James let out a sigh, so much for the good night's sleep he had wanted before confronting Synnove. Keys woke up and looked at James, wagging his tail at his male master. James placed his fingers to his lips to silence the dog before he got too overexcited and woke Synnove. Keys seemingly bored with the fact that he was not allowed to play, settled his head back down on the bed and let out a very depressed sounding sigh for such a small beast. James, feeling sorry for the dog, being caught between himself and Synnove, ruffled the beast's fur and received a half-hearted wag of the tail in response.

"I'll be back later," he whispered to the dog, not entirely sure why he did so, before exiting the room. He had forgotten about dinner in his rush to get back to Synnove, and now he was utterly starving. James decided to make his was to the galley and take whatever food he could find before returning to their room. Hopefully by then Synnove would have shuffled herself into a position which better left room for him on the bed.

Synnove's eyes cracked open as she heard James exit the room, sighing quietly to herself as she watched his retreating form. Keys, discovering that Synnove was awake, automatically decided that it was time to play. He rolled onto his back and began batting at her with his large and undoubtedly dirty paws. Synnove smiled at the dog and batted back at him with her hands before ruffling the fur on his exposed belly. The dog turned his head to Synnove and licked her cheek. Synnove pulled a face at the beast, not enjoying being licked at all. She wrapped her arms around the dog and kissed his head, giggling as he squirmed about in her grip. At least Keys could still make her smile if nothing else could.

Synnove rolled over and stood up from the bed, "I am just going to say goodnight to the Osmosechu girls, I will be back very soon," she told the dog.

He wagged his tail as he watched her exit the room, far too tired to be bothered getting up and following her.

Yulia was not in her room when Synnove knocked upon the door. Instead she was met with a rather sleepy looking Antanasia instead.

"Hello Synnove," Antanasia said slowly.

"Hell Antanasia, I am sorry that I woke you, I just wanted to bid you and your sister goodnight before I turned in myself."

"Yulia is not here at the moment. It seems she took you advice, she and Mr. Groves have been spending an increasingly large amount of time together!" Antanasia said smiling widely.

"I am glad that she finally found the courage to talk to Groves, he is a wonderful man."

"Trust me, I have heard enough about how wonderful, kind, caring and handsome Mr. Groves is to last me a lifetime," Antanasia said rolling her eyes. "Yulia is smitten with the man, broken hearted though he is, I think they make a wonderful couple."

"I have yet to see them together, but I have no doubt in your observation."

"It is almost sickening to see how Yulia acts when she returns from taking turns about the deck with Mr. Groves. I think even if I did not suffer from morning sickness I would still find it hard to stomach."

"I am sure it is not that bad," Synnove said. "Speaking of morning sickness, how us your little one doing?"

"He is a kicker, so I am sure that he will be a strong boy," Antanasia said, her face beaming with pride.

"How are you so sure that it is a boy that you will be having?"

"I do not know how I know, it is just a feeling that I get. If he is a boy I have already picked out the perfect name for him."

"What will you call him?"

"Victor," she said. Her voice wavered as she continued to explain, "After my brave little brother who faced the gallows singing."

"I think that is beautiful Antanasia."

"Thank you Synnove." Antanasia yawned, stretching her arms over her head. Suddenly she winched and clutched at her enlarged stomach.

"Are you alright?" Synnove said darting forwards and putting her hand on Antanasia's stomach to see what was wrong.

Antanasia burst out laughing, "I am fine Synnove, I am just not used to the kicking yet."

"I am glad that you are alright. I should be leaving now and let you get your sleep," Synnove said.

"Alright then," Antanasia said. "I shall see you tomorrow?"

"Of course you shall, goodnight Antanasia!" Synnove said bringing the small girl into her arms and hugging her goodbye.

"Goodnight Synnove, I hope things get better for you."

"So do I," she replied smiling sadly.

Synnove slowly made her way back to her room, taking her time because she did not want to run into James or anyone else for that matter. She had not brought a candle with her, so she was forced to keep one hand on the wall and squint into the darkness. As she came closer to her room it became brighter, but she was still not able to see well enough to set her mind at ease.

She could hear boots clicking down the hallway towards her and her breath caught in her throat. She knew that she would not be harmed, but she would never get used to the idea of sharing a ship with pirates, no matter how charming they happened to be.

All of a sudden the person moved rapidly towards her, Synnove felt a strong rough hand wrench her hands away from her body and pin them against the wall above her head. The weight of the male body pressing against her held her in place and made any thoughts of escape impossible. Instantly Synnove began to panic, thinking that the worst had surely come to pass and she was to lose her innocence to a pirate, trapped, with no one who would dare attempt to save her. Synnove's breathing quickened to the state of hyperventilation as she wriggled and kicked out at her attacker. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from where she could see the pirate was making an advance, she would most certainly not go down without a fight, but she did not want to see her attacker either. She did not want to stare into their crazed eyes for fear that they would haunt her dreams. She tried to scream, but her voice was trapped in her throat. No one would hear her and no one would come to save her. Synnove managed to pull one hand free from her captor's tight grip. Her hand slapped across his face, her long fingernails scratching the skin of his cheek. As soon as her fingernails cut his skin, her captor regained control of the situation, his hand snapping around her wrist and slamming her hand back against the wall. Her knuckles grazed against the rough wood of the ship, undoubtedly causing them to bleed, but she could worry about that later, now she needed to find a way to escape. Her captor was so close that Synnove could feel his breath on her face and his chest pressing into hers. Each of her captor's hands held hers pinned and she doubted that she would be able to free herself from his hold again and his body was so heavily against hers that she could not raise her knee and deliver a painful blow to what she knew would be a sensitive area for the man.

Just as she was about to let out a bloodcurdling scream, soft lips crashed against Synnove's in a gentle kiss, very different from the rough movements trapping her against the wall. Synnove recognised that kiss; it belonged to no one other than James Norrington. Before she could stop herself from falling victim to his soft lips, Synnove found her lips moving towards his in a returned kiss. James' kisses were short and gentle, coming back for another as soon as he broke away. Synnove smiled into the kiss, finally able to free herself from his tight grip and wrap her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his chest, snuggling herself in just under his chin and breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"You scared the life out of me James," she whispered. Synnove's body was shaking in delayed fear, glad that his arms were now as tightly around her body as hers were around him. She did not want him to speak, afraid that he had simply been overcome with the urge to kiss her and nothing more. She would not look into his eyes either, for fear that she would see only regret in his beautiful green orbs. Synnove was terrified that he would let go of her and walk away as if nothing had happened, so she clung tighter to him, not letting him move. Her arms were squeezing his body and her fingers were holding onto the material of his coat so tightly that her knuckles were white and she was sure that he would have trouble breathing. He sucked in a deep breath, wincing as her hands came into contact with his still healing wounds. James smiled down at Synnove, although he could not see her face, he was glad that she had responded so well to him, returning his kisses and holding him so tightly. This was where he belonged, he was certain.

"Will you ever forgive me Synnove?" James said. "I have been such a fool, such a dreadful fool. Can you find it in your kind heart to come back to me?" his voice took on a begging tone that Synnove did not like one bit. James always sounded so strong and confident, but now the sorrow in his voice was inescapable. With the knowledge that she was, in part, responsible for his pain, it made Synnove's heart ache. Had she done this to him?  
Synnove sighed, she moved her head from his chest and looked up at him smiling widely, "of course I will forgive you. There is no place I would rather be than with you, this is where I belong. I love you James Norrington, nothing will ever change that, absolutely nothing."

"I am lucky to have the love of such a forgiving and loving woman."

"Loving you is easy James. But I swear, if you ever do such a thing to me again, it will be much more difficult to earn my forgiveness."

"I can promise you right now that I will never be so foolish again. I listened to you cry yourself to sleep every night when you did not think that I could hear. My love it tore me apart, the minute I left you was the same minute I wanted to come running back. But I never have been good with apologies and I could not think of anything to say to you in order to make everything better. You deserve so much more than I can give you, but I fear my words fail me."

"All you ever had to say was that you were sorry, maybe not even that my love. I would have accepted anything from you. I was not expecting a grand gesture, I just wanted you," she said poking his chest with her rather bony index finger.

James removed one hand from her waist and caught the hand which was assaulting him, the same hand which he had grazed against the wall earlier. He brought the back of her hand up to his lips and left a lingering kiss on her flesh. Her knuckles were reddened with blood, he had not meant to be so forceful with her, but she seemed not to mind.

"I have missed you James, though you have been sleeping in the same bed," Synnove admitted.

"I have missed you as well. Forever a fool I will be," James replied in a whisper.

"Ah my love, but you are my fool," she said smiling. "It is late, we should return to our room."

"Does that mean that I have to let you go?" James asked.

"I will never let you let me go again James."

James spun Synnove away from the wall, keeping one hand tightly wrapped around her waist he lead her back to their room.

The pair stumbled around in the darkness to find the bed and how much of the bed that Keys happened to be taking up. The dog, seeing that both of his masters had entered the room together, leapt up from the bed. He stood on his hind legs, reaching his paws out to stand on James' shoulders. The dog barked happily, wagging his tail at great speed. Synnove patted his head before leaning forwards to kiss the dog on the cheek.

"Must you kiss the dog with the same lips that you kiss me?" James asked.

"I have no other lips my love. Keys has been rather upset lately, like a child caught between arguing parents he did not know who to follow."

James smiled at Synnove, "trust you to be so worried about the beast."

"He is not a beast, he is a wonderful, loyal canine companion," Synnove said forcefully.

James leant over and kissed her forehead, "I know. Now let us just hope that he does not wish to take up the entire bed."

"He is a good boy; all he needs is gentle persuasion. That and if he does not move you can always lift him, he is not all that heavy."

Keys stood on the bed and watched as Synnove removed her boots and corset before making herself comfortable in the middle of the bed. James had his back turned to Synnove removing his own boots and coat before joining her in bed. He lay on his stomach in order to be comfortable while Synnove lay on her back. Keys spread himself out on Synnove's other side, his back pressed against her side.

"James?" Synnove called out in the darkness. She wiggled around in the bed until she was closer to James, nestling her head on the pillow next to his.

"Yes darling?"

"I believe that it is my turn to broach a difficult subject, but I am afraid that if I do not ask I will spend the rest of eternity wondering."  
"Ask away my love," James said. He shuffled closer to Synnove and threw his arm over her waist, holding her in place tightly next to him.

Synnove took a deep breath, "are you still in love with Elizabeth?" She asked in a whisper so silent that she almost could not hear herself speak.

"No," James said simply but forcefully. "Where did you possibly get such an idea?"

"I thought that you did not want to be with me because you still held a candle for Elizabeth. You chased her across the ocean, just to save her and then you died for her James, love does not get much stronger than that!" Synnove exclaimed. "A love that strong does not fade so quickly either. Captain Sparrow told me how beautiful she is as well as how fierce a warrior she is." Synnove turned her face away from his sad green eyes, perhaps she had been correct all along and James was merely sad that she had found out the truth so quickly.

"I would search all seven seas to find you if you were ever taken from me," James said cupping her chin and forcing Synnove to turn back to face him. "I would die a million times over for you Synnove. While it is true that once my heart belonged to Mrs. Turner nee Swann, but the love I had for her is nothing when compared to my love for you. "

"I would never ask you to die for me James," Synnove interrupted.

"And that is how that I know your love for me is true. I set Elizabeth free from her promise to marry me, hoping that she would see the error in her decision and come back to me. But that dream never came to fruition. I set you free because I felt that you could do so much better, but you never left me Synnove. It is like you have always been there and that you always will be. If only we had found each other years ago, then our hearts could have been spared."

"We have each other now though and that is all that matters," Synnove whispered.

"I am sorry that I ever made you doubt my love. Mrs. Turner is nothing to me now and she never will be. I have you; I have finally found the one thing that I have been searching for all along."

Synnove blushed, her eyes watering with tears of happiness, "and you said that you were no god with words."

James brushed her cheek with his thumb, "I love you," he said before his lips descended down upon hers. Synnove kissed James back, gently at first before deepening. Her hands trailed up into his long hair, pulling him closer and his arm around her waist slipped up under her shirt. His calloused fingers rubbed against her skin making Synnove move closer to his touch. James' kisses became more frantic, his tongue trailing her bottom lip. Synnove parted her lips and allowed James to slip his tongue inside. His fingers rubbed slow circles on her skin and his tongue swirled against Synnove's, quickly asserting dominance over the small Swedish woman beneath him.

As if realising what he was doing would be considered highly inappropriate, James pulled away. "I did not mean to push you so far my love. I am just so glad to have you back," he said, out of breath.

"You did not push me too far, as always you are the perfect gentleman," Synnove replied. Her fingers ran through James' hair, not allowing him to move too far away from her.

He went to remove his hand from up the side of Synnove's shirt, but she stopped him, holding his hand in place, "this does not bother you?" James asked.

"Not at all," Synnove said smiling widely up at him. "But all the same I think we should go to sleep now, no doubt you have an early morning working on deck?"

"Most likely," James said in a highly unimpressed tone.

James nuzzled his face into her neck, planting a soft kiss on her flesh. "Before I fall asleep, please tell me that this is not another dream?"

"If this is a dream then it is one we are both sharing," Synnove said. She stroked her fingers through his hair, "I do not think that this is a dream, so it must be reality."

"I love you Synnove," he whispered beginning to fall asleep. "Goodnight."

"I love you too James, goodnight," Synnove whispered back to him.

* * *

Hello dears! I suppose that I can stop hiding behind James ... for now *insert deranged evil laughter here*  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I made it a bit longer than usual to make up for what I have put you through lately!  
Please leave a review - I really do love them


	50. Lay Your World On Me

James woke early the next morning to a sight quite unlike anything he had seen before. Synnove's pale face was close to his, her head turned to the side. Her eyes were closed with her dark eyelashes framing them as she continued to sleep. Her soft lips were slightly parted, inviting James to move forwards and kiss her, but he restrained himself, not wanting to wake the sleeping beauty beside him. His eyes widened as he remembered that his hand was still resting on the bare skin on her waist, amazed that she had not politely shaken him off when he was asleep. Her skin was warm and soft, just like her lips and again James found himself fighting the urge to press his lips to hers.

Their peace was not to last long for as a stray paw thumped down on James' shoulder. The dog had moved sometime during the night and now he was curled into James' back. Keys had somehow spotted that James was awake and as usual, he decided that it was time to play. James tried to ignore the dog and go back to sleep, but Keys would not be ignored this time. He continued to thump his paws against James and wag his until James gave in and stroked the dog. James hoped that stroking Keys would calm him down and send him off to sleep, but again the dog had other ideas. Seeing James' hand coming towards him Keys rolled onto his back and began kicking at the hand. James rolled his eyes and continued to pet the dog, hoping that the beast would get bored and settle back down soon.

Synnove woke up to the sound of Keys bouncing around the bed and James quietly scolding him. She giggled at the sight and kissed James on the check, effectively alerting him to the fact that she was awake.

"I am so sorry Synnove, I tried to keep him quiet, but the beast refused to obey me," James apologised.

"That is alright darling," Synnove said smiling at the pair. "Good morning!"

"It was before the beast woke up," James said with a roll of his eyes. "Good morning my love," he added.

"Good morning Keys," Synnove said waving her arm in the air so that the dog would notice her and leave James alone instead.

According to plan the dog jumped at Synnove, standing over James in order to do so. He pawed at her until her hands came alive and played with him. James grunted at being stuck on his stomach and crushed under the weight of the dog, but he could not bring himself to complain when Synnove and Keys both looked so happy. After a few minutes Keys appeared to tire of his game with Synnove and turned around, climbing back over James and settling at the foot of the bed.

James groaned and shuffled closer to Synnove, nuzzled his face back into her neck and closing his eyes. It was still far too early for him to need to get up and fulfil his duties on the ship, he could afford to go back to sleep for a good hour or two. Synnove ran her fingertips through his hair, playing with the long brown strands and curling them around her fingers.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Synnove asked breaking the silence.

"I feel utterly amazing!" James declared. He rubbed his hand against the warm patch of Synnove's flesh that his hand was still touching.

"I am glad," Synnove said. "How are your wounds healing? I know that I should have asked earlier, but I could not force myself to ask when we were separated."

James smiled at Synnove and rolled onto his side, his hand never leaving Synnove's body. "I honestly do not know how it is healing. I did not trust any of the pirates enough to ask them to look at my wounds for me," he admitted.

"You mean that you have not changed your bandages since Mr. Gibbs sewed you up?" Synnove asked.

"Unfortunately yes," James said, bracing himself for Synnove to scold him.

"James Norrington! You know very well that neglecting your health could have serious consequences. Although I do not doubt Mr. Gibbs' ability as ship's doctor, that does not mean that you can neglect yourself!" Synnove raised her voice. She shook her head at James, but she was not as angry with him as James expected that she would be. "It is settled then, in an hour or so when the time is more appropriate I will seek out Mr. Gibbs."

"Does that mean that you will have to move from this space?" James asked.

"Not for another hour at least," Synnove replied. She shuffled closer to James and turned on her side so that they were facing one another. She set her hand down on the side of his face, running her fingers over his cheek. There was a strange look in James' eyes, one Synnove could not place, it looked like a combination of longing, happiness and gratitude all mixed together. "You should try and go back to sleep, you will have a long day on the top deck when it comes time for you to rise."

"I can hardly wait for that," he said, his voice dripping with unhidden sarcasm.

"One day soon when we are home you can forget about the pirates and what they put you through."

"That is a day that I can hardly wait for," James said. Despite his earlier words James felt his eyes beginning to drift closed. Synnove's fingers continued to caress his cheek and her warm, soft female body was pressed tightly against his own. Before he knew it, James had fallen back to sleep, safe in the knowledge that Synnove would not leave him.

"Shall I find Mr. Gibbs and ask him to take a look at your injuries?" Synnove asked as she watched James awaken from his slumber.

"I would prefer it if you did it rather than Mr. Gibbs. I do not like the idea of the pirate knowing how vulnerable I am when I am injured." James smiled weakly at Synnove, still groggy from sleep.

Synnove nodded understanding what James meant, "then I shall simply tell him that your bandages need changing and offer to do it myself. I do not think that he will have a problem with that."

"Hopefully he will not," James said.

"I suppose that I should get up now," Synnove said, though she did not move.

"I suppose that you should," James replied. His grip on Synnove's waist did not loosen, nor did he move away from her. In fact, James nuzzled his face into her hair and kissed the side of her neck in a show of wordless affection.

"But I really do not feel like moving," Synnove said. She giggled at the feeling of James' rough beard scraping against her skin, it was a feeling that she had become used to very quickly. "Must you be so comfortable?"

"So it is my fault that you do not want to move?" James questioned, moving his face away from her neck so that he could watch her.

"Of course, that is another thing that you will learn," Synnove said. "You have already come to terms with the fact that I am always correct."

"Perhaps," James replied simply. "I would offer to go and get the bandages, but I am injured as you have already pointed out so I fear that task must fall to you." He smirked wickedly as he said this to Synnove.

"Well I would not want you to strain yourself my darling," she said. She threw back the covers away from her body, hoping that doing so would provide her with the motivation to move. It only made her feel cold. Synnove fought the urge to roll closer to James and instead began to wriggle away from him. Slowly she extracted herself from the bed, stretching and putting her corset back on with her back facing James. She turned to him and smiled, "a kiss before I go?" she requested.

James sat up and opened his arms to Synnove, inviting her back to his embrace. Synnove knelt on the bed and leant over James, bending down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. She went to pull away but James wound his fingers into her hair and held her in place, kissing her lips over and over again. Each kiss was soft and gentle, as James always was with her, James broke away. "Come back to me soon my love," he said. "Be careful around the pirates. Do you have your knife that I gave you?"

"Of course," she answered. Synnove reached her hand down to her boot and pulled out the blade, giving him proof that she had the weapon. "I will return soon."

Synnove found Mr. Gibbs easily and asked him for the help that she required. Mr. Gibbs was more than willing to comply because it meant that he would not have to check on Norrington's wounds.

"Just remove the bandages, give the wounds a wash with these," Mr. Gibbs said pushing a bowl of water and an assortment of cloths into Synnove's hands. "Then when you are done with that use these bandages to cover up the still healing wounds," Mr. Gibbs passed Synnove a large roll of clean white bandage and a pin to hold it in place.

"Thank you Mr. Gibbs," she said.

"Yer welcome lassie, take good care of yer man."

"I will!" Synnove replied turning on her heel and exiting the room.

Carefully she made her way down the stairs and back to her room, trying her best not to lose any water out of the bowl as the ship pitched and rolled beneath her feet. The bedroom door was closed much to her annoyance and when she called out to James to open it she received no response. Instantly Synnove began to panic, if James could not hear her something might be drastically wrong. He could have developed a fever and fallen into unconsciousness in a matter of minutes. She bit her bottom lip and raised her leg to kick at the door open when she heard footsteps behind her. Before she could whirl around to ask the person behind her for help, their hand turned to doorknob and pushed the door open for her.

"I am sorry Synnove, I just had to step out for a minute and get some air otherwise I would have opened the door for you when you called," James said. He took the bowl of water from her hands and followed behind her, placing the bowl on the table.

"That is alright," she said. "I was just beginning to worry that you had fallen ill whilst I was gone."

"You need not worry," James said turning his back to Synnove. He took of his coat and placed it on the bed before turning back to Synnove and smiling. "You will not get rid of me so easily my love," he said.

"I was not planning on it," she replied, sharing his wide smile."Would you like to sit down while I take care of your wounds, or do you mind standing?"

"I will stand if it makes it easier for you," James smirked knowing that that was not the answer Synnove was looking for.

She raised an eyebrow at him and batted at his chest with her hand, but did not say a word. Slowly her hands moved towards the top button of his shirt. James blushed as he felt her soft fingers trail down his body as she undid each button. He knew that he should be the one to undo his own buttons and undress himself, but he could not find the voice to tell Synnove so, nor did he particularly want to tell her either. Truth be told he enjoyed been taken care of in such a way, Synnove was gentle and attentive to his every need, acting more like a wife each day she spent with him. That was of course the next thing on James' list, to make Synnove Nordenburg into Synnove Norrington. However, that would take time and careful planning, the way he asked had to be perfect for Synnove deserved no less. Until that time, he was happy just being with her the way that he was.

James was so lost in his own thoughts that he did not noticed when Synnove was finished unbuttoning his shirt. Her soft fingers sliding up to his neck and pulling his shirt from his shoulders was the only thing that brought him out of his apparent daze. Synnove's face was tinted red with the telltale signs of a blush as her fingers fought against the urge to trail his exposed body. James watched on as Synnove undid the pin holding his bandages together and in place. One hand stayed on his chest while the other began to unwind the bandages, dropping the material covered in dried blood onto the floor. Without a word she slipped behind him and began to wash the blood from his back. Synnove took much longer than necessary to tend to his healing wounds, but James did not say a word against it. Synnove seemed to enjoy taking care of him, and he was more than happy to let her do as she pleased. Several times James winched in pain as Synnove trailed over a particularly sore wound with her cloth, he did not say anything or complain though, knowing that she was not doing so deliberately. James might have been able to relax enough to fall asleep if it wasn't for the undeniable pain Synnove's task was creating.

"I think that you should let the air get to your wounds, it will help them heal faster," Synnove suggested. She placed the bloodied cloth in the bowl of water, inspecting her work on James' back. The smaller cuts had scabbed over nicely indicating that it would not be much longer until they were gone. The larger slashes Stefan had inflicted still had a while to go before they healed over properly. Mr. Gibbs' intricate black stitching was amazingly done for a man who spent a lot of time in the company of a bottle of rum.

"I have a while yet before either Captain will notice the lack of my presence on deck," James said.

"James?"

"Yes."

"Will you teach me to fight with a sword?" Synnove asked. She knew that James' answer would be a resounding and definite 'no', but she also knew what to say to convince him otherwise.

"Most certainly not," he said as predicted. "You are a woman and as such you should never have to wield a sword. I have already seen your hands sullied by a weapon once and I will not stand to see it again." James turned away from Synnove, he could not look at her eyes and say no to her at the same time.

"While I agree that you do have a good point my darling, I must counter it with one of my own." Synnove put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him back around to face her.

"And what would that point be?"

"You are strong and proficient with a sword because you wish to protect the ones you care about, yes?" Synnove asked. James nodded in reply, but said nothing. "When Stefan had you locked in the brig, defenceless and powerless to do anything, you felt bad yes?"

"I felt much worse that bad Synnove. I failed to protect you; I failed to do the one thing that I promised to." James was still upset by the mere mention of Stefan.

"Now imagine how I feel every time I see you lift a sword to defend me from harm. Each and every time I see you fighting to keep me safe I feel powerless. My love for you makes me want to protect you, as your love for me does the same. Do you understand what I mean James?"  
James' face scrunched up as he thought over her reasoning, "I understand what you mean Synnove. But – "

Synnove cut James off by placing her finger on his lips, "I wish to stand by your side at all times James, I cannot do that if I cannot fight. I do not like feeling so helpless, if you were hurt I could do nothing."

James took Synnove's finger from his lip, lacing the fingers of his hand through hers. "I will never let anyone get the best of me like that again. I have learnt my lesson Synnove, I will protect you always. You need not learnt to fight," he was firm in his resolve, nothing could change that.

"Please James," Synnove whispered.

All at once his firm resolve slipped away. It was a combination of Synnove whispering tones and her swirling blue eyes the colour of a calm ocean that caused James to crumble. James had to admit that her reasoning was completely sound, he wanted to protect her, so it was obvious that she wanted to protect him. He let out a defeated sigh, "Alright."

"Really James, you mean it?" Synnove asked, not believing that it had been so easy to change his mind.

"Yes my love, I mean it. I will teach you how to fight with a sword, in the hopes that you never have to use such a skill."

"Hooray!" Synnove exclaimed. She stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, lightly kissing him on the lips. "I honestly did not expect you to give in so easily," she admitted.

"It is hard to say no to such a beautiful face."

"And here I was thinking that my logic had persuaded you rather than my face," Synnove said. She pouted up at James.

"I could have said no to your logic, but one look into those eyes of your and I crumble. They truly are a powerful weapon."

Before Synnove could say anything in reply, there was a loud knock on their cabin door signalling that it was time for James to leave and begin his work on deck. With only a word of goodbye James pulled his shirt back on and made his way out of the room.

Synnove watched as he left, staying in the doorway until he was long gone. She heard the clomping of boots against the wooden floor and turned around in time to see Gillette making his way to the deck as well.

"Gillette!" Synnove cried pouncing on the man she had come to think of as a brother. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, trapping his arms by his side as she squeezed a hold of him. Gillette raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Miss Synnove. When he saw the large beaming smile on her face he could not help but smile back at her.

"Shall I take it from the large smile on your face that you and Norrington have reconciled your differences?" Gillette asked.

"Yes!" Synnove exclaimed. She squeezed her arms around Gillette tighter, making it harder for him to breathe. "Last night he apologised and I have not been able to stop smiling since then."

"I am glad he finally came to his senses Miss Synnove, but do you mind releasing me so that I may breathe properly again?"

"Oh I am sorry Gillette! I did not mean to hurt you, I am just so happy." Synnove released her constrictor-like grip on her friend.

Gillette took an over dramatic gasp of air, bent over from the waist and his hand over his heart, "I think I just saw my life pass before my very eyes Miss Synnove." He rose back up to his full height and squeezed her upper arm, "you certainly are strong for such a small woman."

"I have five brothers and no sisters; I was never going to be weak after dealing with them," Synnove said. "I did not hurt you did I?"

"A few broken ribs never killed a man like me!" Gillette said smirking down at Synnove.

Synnove laughed at his words, "you must be as fragile as a newborn then! No wonder you are always sent up to the crow's nest."

"I am sent to the crow's nest because the pirates fail to understand my style of humour," Gillette replied scowling. He truly did hate been sent up to the crow's nest, it was far less interesting than the name suggested.

"Is that what it is called?" Synnove asked with a smirk.

"Very funny Miss Synnove," he replied. "I must say that it is wonderful to see you smiling again. I had begun to fear that your sad blue eyes would never perk up," he added changing the subject.

"I was beginning to worry about the same thing."

"How did he win your affection back?" Gillette asked. "I must say that if I was a woman in your position I would have demanded a large bouquet of flowers and a fancy box of chocolates. Anything expensive, and I would most certainly not share the chocolates."

"I did not think for a moment that you would," Synnove replied. "As much as your suggestions do appeal to me, I have already taken James back and I would not trade that for anything."

"Ah that is true," he said pausing. "But you do realise that you have Norrington in the perfect position."

"How so?"

"Say you see something fancy that you like, but it is over the amount Norrington is willing to pay. All you have to do is sigh dramatically, pull a sad face, which I might add is awfully convincing coming from you, and say something along the lines of 'I know that we do not have the money, but it is so exquisitely crafted. I knew that when I said that I would come back to you that I would have to forgo such things and I do not regret it. But sometimes I just wish…' Norrington will feel guilty and before you can close your eyes you will have whatever it is that you want," Gillette explained. "But you will have to use that bargaining chip quickly though, as time passes the guilt will fade and the less likely you will get anything out of it."

Synnove laughed at Gillette's idea, "I could not do that to James. I do not need expensive things to make me happy Gillette," Synnove said. The smile on her face grew even wider as she added, "I just need James."

"He is a very lucky man to have a woman like you."

"Thank you Gillette," she said, her face tinted red with a blush.

"Speaking of love being in the air, have you had a chance to see Groves and Miss Yulia together?"

"No I have not, Antanasia mentioned it last night. What are they like together?"

"Miss Yulia is positively smitten, much like you are with Norrington. She hangs on Groves' every word when they go walking around the top deck. However, I do not think that Groves realises Miss Yulia's feelings for him."

"We will have to do something about that," Synnove said smiling up at Gillette.

Gillette raised his eyebrow at Synnove, "I suppose that we will."

"We will have to get Antanasia in on whatever it is we plan, she does know Yulia the best."

"That is a brilliant idea," Gillette agreed. "I do apologise Miss Synnove but I really must be leaving you now to fulfil my obligations to the pirates."  
"Yes, yes of course. I am sorry for keeping you from your duties. If Captain Sparrow has a problem you can blame me completely!"

"I fully intended to do so in the first place," Gillette said. The smirk on his face was wide and he looked rather proud of himself.

"You really are a charmer Gillette," Synnove said sarcastically.

"I aim only to please Miss Synnove."  
"Have fun pleasing the pirates with your deck swabbing prowess, I am sure that they will be grateful."

"Oh they well be, but they will not show it," Gillette said his parting words and made his way slowly and very reluctantly up the stairs.

"Have fun," Synnove said waving at Gillette's retreating form. Gillette turned around and glared half heartedly at her before waving back to Synnove and carrying on.

The rest of Synnove's day passed on uneventfully, with James, Gillette and Groves on the top deck working alongside the pirates. She had spent part of the day with Antanasia and Yulia, but Yulia began to feel seasick and Antanasia was rather irritable. Synnove had also attempted to make conversation with the female pirate, Annamaria, but soon found that they had little in common. Keys had followed behind her as he always did, keeping her company when no one else would or could. She had never been allowed a pet dog when she was a child. Dogs were hunting companions or guards, they were not meant to be played with and mollycoddled the way she did with Keys. Synnove however simply could not help herself; she thought that there was no point in having a dog if you did not look after it and in her case spoil it.

Synnove lay sprawled out on the bed with Keys lying beside her, there really was nothing for her to do except lounge around and try to pass time by sleeping. She decided that she would stay there until James came back to get her for dinner, then other men would take over from him and she could spend the rest of the afternoon in his company. Minutes turned into hours as Synnove starred at the wooden ceiling, tracing patterns with her eyes in the wood before she finally fell asleep.

Synnove awoke much later to find that the sun had already gone down. She woke just in time to discover that James had just walked into the room. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was silenced when James spoke first.

"You were asleep and I did not have the heart to wake you," James said smiling down at Synnove.

"So I have missed dinner then?" she asked. Synnove blinked slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She noticed that his hands were held behind his back, but she could not see what it was that he was holding, if anything.

"In a manner of speaking yes," he replied.

"If we go now do you think that there will be any leftovers?"

"No," James said. Synnove's face fell. She was fond of food, perhaps not as fond of it as Gillette was, but still, she did not like the idea of skipping dinner. "Do not look so upset my love, I have brought you your very own plate. I managed to swipe some dinner for you before it all disappeared down Gillette's stomach." James moved the plate of food from behind his back and held it out in front of him, presenting it to Synnove.

Synnove pushed herself upright into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She took the plate and the fork from his hands and pulled her legs up so that she was sitting cross legged. Keys rolled over and lay beside her, his large brown eyes glued to her plate and his tail wagging in a way that he hoped would make Synnove share her dinner.

"How was dinner?" she asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Mostly uneventful," he said. James moved closer to Synnove and sat by her on the bed. He could smell her food and although he had already had his share, James was still hungry. He was adamant that he was not turning into Gillette, it was just that dinner had not been as substantial as he had hoped it would be.

"Why, what happened?" Synnove asked. She watched James as he followed each spoonful to her mouth, much like Keys was doing. She rolled her eyes at the dog and picked up a piece of meat from her plate and gave it to Keys who ate it so quickly one could question whether he even chewed it. James looked unimpressed as she shared her meal with the dog and watched as she loaded her fork full with food. She opened her mouth wide to take a bite, but then thought better of it. Synnove took the fork away from her mouth and held it out in front of James' instead. "Have some if you wish," she said and offered it to him.

"I could not, I have already had dinner."

"If you keep watching my every mouthful the way Keys does then I will not be able to eat without feeling guilty," Synnove said. "Now open wide and have this spoonful so that I may eat free of guilty."

James frowned at Synnove and attempted to take the spoon from her, she moved her hand away, dodging his grip.

"Must you be so difficult darling?" she asked with a wide smile adorning her face. James could not help but smile in return. He shook his head and opened his mouth, waiting for Synnove to deliver the spoon to his mouth.

"Thank you," James said once he had finished his mouthful. He smiled at her, unable to do anything to wipe it from his face.

"You are welcome, would you like some more?"

James looked guiltily down at the floor, knowing that he should not try to take more of her food, but then again, she was offering. "I should not," he said.

"That was not the answer I was looking for," she said.

"Yes please," he said. "But only after you have had some more," James added.

Synnove had another couple of bites before giving more the Keys and then sharing with James. That pattern continued until there was nothing left on her plate. "You neglected to mention what happened during dinner."

"Captain Barbossa mentioned that food was running low and that we will be making port tomorrow morning to go ashore and collect supplies," James said.

"How could you say that that revelation was not eventful?" Synnove questioned. "I have not been upon shore in what feels like forever. Ah what it would feel like to have solid earth beneath my feet again!" Synnove said, her eyes lighting up at the idea.

"I did not tell you earlier because both Captains have made it perfectly clear that none of the women, apart from Annamaria will be allowed to leave the ship."

"Why?" she asked.

"They have stated that the place where we are making port is no place for women such as yourself and the Osmosechu sisters."

"Is it terribly dangerous for you to be going ashore then?"  
"It will undoubtedly be a pirate port," James said. "The same risks we faced in Tortuga will be present.

"What if you are recognised? Will the pirates not attack you?" Synnove asked, her eyes were wide with fear from James' safety.

"I was assigned only the Caribbean and at the moment we are closer to Germany, the likelihood of me being recognised is very slim. That and I do look rather different from when I was an Admiral."

Synnove nodded as she felt her fear decreasing. "You look handsome either way," she told him, watching as he blushed slightly. "Promise me that you will be careful my love," Synnove pleaded.

"I will do my best," James said.

* * *

I hoped that you enjoyed this part! Please leave a review - it always makes my day better!  
I have an interview for my University Exchange of wednesday and if everything goes well by August I will be off to study in Sweden or The Netherlands. Wish me luck!


	51. Until The End

James saw two very large, very expensive look rings sitting on the Captain's desk. He had previously seen the same two rings on Sparrow's fingers, so they obviously belonged to him. James turned his head to check if anyone was looking at him before carefully swiping both rings off the table and stuffing them into his pocket. He could not explain the urge to take the rings, he just felt that he needed to do it. Perhaps he did it to spite Sparrow, perhaps not, James did not know.

"Our boat is going to be leaving soon," Gillette said popping his head into the room. "You should say goodbye to Miss Synnove before we leave."

"Alright, I will be with you soon," James replied. He exited the Captain's quarters, making his way up the stairs quickly across the deck and down the stairs on the other side. James moved briskly, and knocked on the door to his and Synnove's room. James could hear Keys bark quietly at the sound before the door swung open and Synnove stepped out.

"Are you going now?" she asked.

"In a few minutes I think, I just came to say goodbye first." James smiled weakly at Synnove, not at all impressed at the fact that he had to leave her behind for the day. His hands rested around her waist, pulling her body close to his own. James had been told that Ragetti, Pintel and two other former naval officers Murtogg and Mullroy would be staying aboard the vessel to ensure that no one attempted to steal the _Black Pearl_ in the absence of either Captain. None of the four pirates were happy with the arrangement that had been decided upon, but they were not in a position to change anything. He would have laughed at their predicament, but he did not want to make them angry and tempt them to disrespect Synnove or the Osmosechu sister whilst he was gone.

Synnove rested her arms around James' neck, smiling up at him. "Make sure that you are very careful, I do not want you coming back to me more injured than you already are."

"I will do my best my love," James replied. "How about giving me a kiss for good luck?"

"I suppose that I could spare one," she said. Synnove rose to her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss to his lips.

"Perhaps one more?" James requested. He bent down closer to Synnove tilting his head to the side and claiming her lips softly, he was about to deepen the kiss when he was interrupted.

"Hey!" Pintel shouted. "The longboat is leaving now, so stop with all of this," Pintel grabbed at the air cradling the empty space like he had a woman in his arms and kissing the air, "and get moving!"

James rolled his eyes at the pirates retreating form, "I suppose that I must leave you, for now," he said.

"I will walk you to the longboat," she said. Synnove stepped out of his arms and laced her fingers through his.

She stood at the railing watching as James made his way down to the small boat, with him sitting in it, it was now full. "Goodbye!" she said waving to James, Gillette and Groves as the boat was untied from the ship. She stood still, watching until the boat could no longer be seen, then she turned to the two Captain who were both still on board the ship.

"Captain Barbossa, Captain Sparrow, may I have a word with you for a moment please?"

"What be your problem lass?" Captain Barbossa asked. Captain Jack popped out from behind the older Captain, looking rather upset that his voyage to land had not commenced yet.

Synnove put on her best authoritative face, frowning and trying to look threatening before she spoke. "I have been informed that there is a degree of danger for James, Gillette and Groves on the supply run, am I correct?"

Barbossa smirked wickedly at the small woman standing in front of him, "that be true."

"As your employer, I would like to state that if James, Gillette or Groves are harmed in any way, I will be holding the both of you personally responsible and your fee for returning us to Sweden will be halved, if not completely done away with. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clear as crystal Miss Nordenburg," Captain Barbossa said with a snarling smirk.

"Good," she said nodding. Captain Sparrow stayed suspiciously quite, but she did not give it much thought. "When should we expect you all back?"

"When the time is right," Captain Sparrow said. "I have a lot of … business that I have to attend to while we are on shore." Synnove nodded in reply and watched as Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow lowered themselves into the longboat and began rowing away.

James, Gillette and Groves followed Mr. Gibbs around for the morning, going from food warehouse to warehouse for supplies. For some reason they ended up doing all of the heavy lifting, leaving the rest of the pirates to do as they pleased. James fought back his urge to say some less than kind words about discipline and the lack of respect the pirates obviously held for their Captains. It was hard work, but he managed not to offend anyone by the time that Groves and Gillette were sent back to the ship with the supplied. James had wanted to go along as well, but there had not been enough room for everyone, so he was forced to stay behind and wait until the pirates were ready to return before he could get back to Synnove.

"Go off and do something else for a few hours while we have some fun," Mr. Gibbs said. Each of his arms were around the waists of two younger women. The woman on his right had bright red hair piled on top of her head in an ornate bun, the woman on his left had dark brown hair cut short to sit just above her shoulders. Both women had blood red painted lips and pale powdered faces with artificial beauty marks

"But not the type of fun that would have yer woman all upset," Mr. Gibbs added.

"You mean our sisters can have fun with this one?" the redheaded woman asked. She looked James up and down, her eyes trailing over his body hungrily.

"Nope, this one is strictly off limits. Unless you want a feisty Swedish woman to hunt you down. She already threatened Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow in one sentence," Mr. Gibbs said smiling drunkenly.

"Is she a mad woman?" the dark haired woman asked. Her words were slurred and her voice was louder than it needed to be, telling James that she was intoxicated more than her two other companions.

"No Miss, she is not mad," James said. "She is just …" he paused looking for the right words to describe Synnove, "protective. She is protective of me just as I am protective of her." James smirked at the thought of his small Synnove telling both Captains what she would allow to happen and what she would not allow to happen. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded to Mr. Gibbs before turning his back on the group of three and making his way down the street. James would look around at some of the shops, maybe he could find something for Synnove while he was wandering. He knew that she became very bored during the long days spent onboard the ship, though Synnove had not and would not admit it.

James wandered along the silent streets, peering into the windows of each shop he passed but he found nothing of interest in any of the stores. James was beginning to lose hope that he would find anything, until he turned down an unmarked street and his eyes fell on a small store squashed between two much larger ones. For reasons he could not place, James felt himself gravitating towards the small shop. Upon closer inspection he discovered that it was a jeweller's store, he knew that he did not have any money on him to purchase anything, but he could see no harm in looking around. There were still a few hours that he had to kill before he could go back to the ship and already he had travelled down most of the streets in the immediate vicinity.

As James stepped through the doorway and into the shop, the dinging of a bell could be heard. The man James assumed must be the jeweller popped up from wherever it was that he had been hiding and smiled widely at James. The jeweller was missing several teeth on both the top and bottom rows and he was stooped over with advanced age.

"What can I do for you lad?" the jeweller asked, a thick accent making it difficult to understand what it was that he was saying.

"No thank you sir, I am just looking," James replied. He hoped that the man could understand him and would not pester him.

"Alright lad, just call if you need anything," the jeweller replied before disappearing back to wherever it was that he had come from.

James' eyes scanned the display cabinets, studying the many finely crafted rings and bracelets. The shop seemed so out of place for the area that it was in. James was surprised that the shop had not been ransacked and had its valuable goods stolen by now. He dismissed the strange feeling he was getting from the store and continued to wander about the shop. Coming to stand by the front counter James' eyes widened. In the very centre of the cabinet sat a very familiar ring. It had a plain gold band with a medium sized sapphire stone in the middle with diamond shaped petals surrounding the sapphire. It was the very same ring that Synnove had worn in his dream; there was no doubt about that.

"Ah, so you have found something that has caught your eye," the jeweller said coming back to stand behind the counter. He smiled at James with an all-knowing look twinkling in his dark eyes. "That is a very beautiful ring you have your eyes on."

"I fear that I do not have any money for such an item sir," James said.

"Turn out your pockets and show me what you have, we may find something that I am willing to trade for," the jeweller said. "While we negotiate, why don't you tell me about the special young lady you want to present this to?"

James dug into the pockets of his trousers and found nothing with which to bargain, next his hands delved into the pockets of his coat and pulled out the two rings he had 'borrowed' from Captain Sparrow's desk. He placed the two rings down on the counter top and looked hopefully up at the jeweller. "She is truly the most wonderful woman that I have ever met. Patient and forgiving beyond reason with the kindest heart you will ever come across.," James paused, wondering if he should divulge more information about Synnove or not. The jeweller seemed to be very interested in his opinion of Synnove, perhaps it would make him more likely to trade with James if he liked the sound of Synnove. "She has long black hair the colour of midnight and she is as pale as a sheet. Her eyes are the colour of the ocean, calm and gentle one just like she always is."

"I see," the jeweller said. He turned his attention to the rings James had placed on the counter, picking up his magnifying glass inspecting the quality of James' stolen rings. They were not worth the same as the ring that James had selected, but if James was willing to sell them together then it would be worth it. The jeweller informed James of this and watched carefully as James considered the deal. "Do we have a deal lad?"

"If you are such that this is a fair exchange for you," James said. He did not think that Sparrow's rings would have fetched all that much, but he was glad that they did.

"I would not have offered if I did not think that this is a deal that we can both benefit from."

"Yes," James said. "We have a deal."

"Excellent," he said. "Would you like something to put it in?"

"Just a small bag please," James replied. "I intend to give it to her as soon as I return to the ship."

The jeweller placed James' purchase on the counter top before returning to the back room to find a bag. "Good luck with your proposal young man," he said as he watched James leave the store.

James smiled to himself as he tucked the ring into the inside pocket of his coat. He kept on his guard all the way back to where the longboat had been tied to the dock. It would still be several hours before any of the pirates were willing to make their way back to the ship, but James had done his waiting and now he wanted to go back. No one was guarding the longboat so he untied it from the dock. Slowly he rowed himself back to the _Black Pearl_, the pirates could find their own way back to the ship, he did not care either way.

Synnove stood in the doorway of the Osmosechu sisters' room. She had her back turned to James and thus did not hear him making his way down the hall, closer to her with each step.  
"Gillette and Groves are both back already, I wonder how much longer James will be gone?" Synnove asked, though she knew that she would receive no answer.  
"He will not be too much longer Synnove," Yulia reassured her. "He is a very capable man, I am sure that he will be fine."  
"I know that," Synnove sighed. "But when he is not here I cannot help but worry about him. The sooner he comes back, the sooner my mind will be at ease."  
Antanasia opened her mouth to say something, but she caught herself before a word escaped. She had caught sight of Mr. Norrington coming down the hall quietly. He placed a finger to his lips, motioning to Antanasia to be silent and not give away his position.  
Synnove pouted, wishing that James would hurry up and make his way back to her, "I simply cannot help myself. I miss him, even when I know where he is."

"Who do you miss?" James' voice said from behind her. At the same time his arms wrapped around her waist, trapping her in place and frightening her half to death.

"James!" Synnove exclaimed. She jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice letting out a small squeaking cry of surprise. "Welcome back!" she said smiling. "Now what have I told you about doing that to me!"

"I thought that you would be happy to see me?" James said.

"Of course I am happy to see you," Synnove moved around in James' grip so that she was facing him. "I am more than happy to see you in fact, I just do not appreciate being scared half to death each time you feel like it."

"I am sorry my love, but I have something for you that will make you forgive me," James said smiling.

"You did not have to get me anything darling," Synnove protested. "I was not seriously mad at you."

James dismissed her words, "do you mind if I borrow Synnove for a few minutes?" he asked the Osmosechu sisters.

"No of course we do not mind," Antanasia said smiling up at Mr. Norrington. She had a strange feeling that the older man had something important that he wanted to do. His eyes were shining brightly with love and admiration.

"Thank you ladies," James said. His hands dropped from around Synnove's waist and guided her back to their room with a hand on the small of her back.

"Is something wrong James?" she asked.

"Nothing is wrong my love, make yourself comfortable on the bed," James said. He could not wipe the large smile from his face at the thought of what he was going to do. Synnove raised an eyebrow at him, but did as she was told. She sat down on the bed far enough back so that her feet dangled above the floor.

James lowered himself to the floor on one knee and cleared his throat nervously. "Synnove, would you do me the honour being my wife?" He held a ring between his fingers and held it up to her, offering her all that he had.

Synnove's blue eyes widened as she took in the situation. Her silence was short lived, though for James it felt like she would never speak. "Yes!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck. The force of her body impacting with James' pushed them both to the floor, James lying on his back and Synnove lying on top of him with her arms tightly around him. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Synnove repeated. She smiled happily down at him and squeezed her arms around his neck so tightly that James thought she was trying to cut his circulation off. She peppered his face with kisses, giggling with pure ecstasy, James had never seen her happier. He winced as his injured back continued to make contact with the solid wood beneath him, but he did not wish to push Synnove off of him.

"Well then, give me your hand," he said. James took her offered hand and placed the ring on her ring finger. "While this ring was not obtained through honest methods, I promise you that I will work hard and save for a proper honest ring for you."

"No," Synnove said. "I like this one," she raised the ring closer to her eyes for inspection. "I do not mind that it was not obtained completely honestly, it is beautiful and I would not change it for the world. If you do not tell me how you came by it, then I will never be any the wiser."

"Are you absolutely sure Synnove?"

"Of course I am sure," she said. "See, it fits me perfectly and soon I will be Synnove Norrington, it sounds amazing!"

"Synnove Norrington, my wife," James said beaming. "You are right, it does sound amazing."

* * *

Happy 1st Birthday to Serendipity! Who would have thought that I would have made it this far!


	52. For The Love Of One Man

James was woken late in the morning to the feeling of arms squeezing him tightly around the middle. He could feel legs entwined with his own and a soft body beneath him, for a moment, he forgot where he was and thought that he was dreaming of the unobtainable future again. His eyes flickered open in alarm, but as he looked down he saw Synnove smiling up at him, his mind was put at ease. At the moment her eyes were the light colour of the Caribbean ocean, still and completely calm. Her arms tightened themselves around his body further and she pushed her lips up towards James' in a silent request for a kiss. He smiled sleepily at her and lowered his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

"I am sorry my love, I did not mean to wake you. I just happened to catch sight of this," Synnove said waving her hand with the ring on it in front of his face, "and I could not help myself."

"You are forgiven, though I will confess I would never be angry waking up to this sight," James replied.

"You flatter me too much my love. One day when I am old and wrinkled you will not say such things," Synnove giggled at the thought as she spoke. "I do suspect that you will be just as handsome when you are older."

"We will grow old and wrinkled together," James said, smiling at the thought.

"What do you think our children will look like?" Synnove asked. In her mind she could picture a young man the same height as James, with his eyes and his hair, but there were many subtle differences. James watched as she frowned and raised a questioning eyebrow at her, "the sooner you teach me to use a sword properly, the better."

"And why would that be?"

"Our sons will look like you and I will have to beat the women away from them. Such handsome boys will surely attract much female attention," Synnove said with a huff.

James smiled down at Synnove, before his own thoughts consumed him. He remembered the dream that he had. James had begun to think of it as a glimpse into the future, a future that he desperately wanted for them all, Synnove, Jamie, the twins, their unborn daughter, the dog and himself living together in a house that would one day be his own. "I too will have to sharpen my skills in order to fend men away from our daughter."

Synnove tilted her head to the side and contemplated his words, "do you only want one daughter my love?"

"I want as many daughters as you will give me," James said. He rolled over onto his back and brought Synnove with him. Her smaller body curled into his own, half on top of him with one of her legs between his. Synnove's head rested on the pillow next to his, their lips only a breath away from touching.

"Would you be angry with me if I did not give you sons? What if I could not give you any children? I know a few friends of my Mother could not have children and their husbands sent them away, we never saw them again!" Synnove exclaimed. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked straight into James' eyes, she had no idea where all of those questions sprung from, but now that they had been asked, there was no way to ignore them.

"Where are all of these worries coming from Synnove?" James asked

"I worry quite a lot," she replied with a weak smile. "However, I am usually much better at keeping my worries to myself."

"It does not matter to me if you give me one hundred children or no children," he said. James smiled at Synnove and rubbed his thumb over her cheek, "I will be happy as long as I have you by my side. So please stop worrying my love."

"I seriously doubt that I will give you one hundred children James," Synnove said her smile returning to grace her face. "Am I hurting you at all?"Synnove asked. Her face clouded over with worry once again and although she was comfortable and did not want to move, she did not want to hurt James.

"Not at all," he replied. James was not lying, nor was he telling the compete truth. Laying on his back was somewhat painful, but it was more of a discomfort than an agonising pain.

Synnove searched James' face for any sign to the contrary, but he was excellent at hiding such things, so Synnove found no such signs. "I do not completely believe you, but if you are sure that you are comfortable I will not complain." Synnove wriggled closer to James and nuzzled her face into his neck and placed her hand on his chest over his heart where she could feel it beating.

A few moments of silence passed as Keys began to stir from his own sleep. He stood up from his position at the foot of the bed and made his way up to lay on James' other side. Much to James' disgust Keys placed his head on James' chest, he raised an eyebrow at the dog and was about to tell him off when Synnove interrupted.

"Be nice James, he is part of our family too," she said. Her hand moved to stroke Keys' soft furry head and she kissed James' cheek quickly to silence his protests. James' grunted in reply and begrudgingly stroked his fingers through Keys' fur. "What is the English word for what we are now?" Synnove asked.

"Betrothed is the closest word in English, although it does not quite fit in our circumstance," James explained

"What does betrothed mean then?"

James smiled, "betrothed is more along the lines of if we had been promised to one another since birth, or some other time. I do not think that the term applies to us."

"I would have to agree with you on that one, is there another word to describe our relationship?" Synnove thought back over her English lessons, but drew only blank as she cast her mind back in time.  
"Yes, I suppose that there is. But it is not an English word," James said. "It is a French word, and we do not like the French."

"Why do we not like the French?" Synnove asked with a curious gaze.

"Because they are French," James stated, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.

Synnove burst out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, "That is not a very nice thing to say," she scolded through her laughter.

"Perhaps, but that does not change the fact that we will not be using a French word to describe ourselves," James told Synnove.

"Well then," she replied. "You are in charge of finding a different word for us to use."

"Very well," he conceded. "I suppose that it is time for us to make our appearance on deck, it is getting later in the morning."

"Alright, if we must," Synnove said with a sigh. "You move first!"

"You are the closest to the edge, you move first."

"No thank you," Synnove replied. She wriggled slightly in James' grip, "I am fine just where I am."

After much bickering about who should move first Synnove finally rolled out of bed, followed closely behind by James. The pair, joined by Keys made their way to the top deck. Synnove laced her fingers through James', smiling proudly as some of the more observant pirates caught sight of the ring on her finger. James lead Synnove over to the railing of the ship, standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist as she watched for dolphins in the water. James was too busy lost in his own thoughts to pay much attention to the water. His attention was quickly ripped back to reality as Synnove's necklace around his neck began to vibrate. His eyes widened at the feeling but his attention was diverted once again when Synnove tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"Look!" she cried out. "It is a whale!" She turned around in his arms and lifted her necklace out from underneath his shirt. "Put this to your ear," she instructed.

James did as he was told, placing the cold sapphire to his ear. He could hear a deep mournful whale song and the rushing sound of the ocean and his eyes bulged.

"Bend closer, I wish to hear it too!" Synnove requested, the smile of her face growing. She moved closer to him and listened to the same whale song that he could hear. "It is utterly beautiful isn't it?"

"Yes," James replied seemingly mesmerised by the sound. "How is it doing that?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Synnove replied. "Mother showed me this trick when I was much younger and I do not think that she knew how it does it either."

They listened to the whale song until it turned to silence as the whale swum out of range.

Synnove had noticed that Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow had been sharing curious glances in her direction throughout the morning. She knew that neither Captain would hurt her, but all the same she shuffled closer to James each time she caught their gazes. James too had noticed the sudden interest the Captain's held in Synnove and in turn tightened his grip upon her. He left her side momentarily to follow an order one of the pirates had barked out at him.

In that same moment Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow made their way over to her. "We be needing to have a word with ya lass," Captain Barbossa said. The look on his face was hard to read and the look on Captain Sparrow's face was equally confusing.  
"What is it about? Is something wrong?" Synnove asked.

"That really does depend on what you have to say about what we have to say," Captain Sparrow replied. "Best bring your lover, I mean fiancé with you."

Synnove smiled, "James said that we will not use the word fiancé because it is a French word. Apparently we do not like the French at all." Synnove paused, "I will just go and find James and I will be back with you in a moment."

"Bring him with ye to the Captain's quarters, this be something ye won't want others be hearing," Captain Barbossa informed Synnove.

* * *

Sorry this part is so short! But I would rather post a short chapter than no chapter at all.  
I promise the next one will be longer to make up for it.


	53. The Missing Frame

Synnove found that she was rather worried about whatever it was that the Captain's had to say to her, she also found that her worried increased when Captain Jack insisted that she bring James along with her. Whatever it was that they had to say, Synnove was sure that it would not be the most pleasant of news. She looked over to James who had his back to her with his hands full of sacks and his shoulders weighed down with more of the same sacks. Synnove had no idea what was inside of the sacks, but whatever it was, it appeared to be heavy. She watched as he made his down the stairs following in the line of pirates who were doing the exact same thing.

Synnove leant back against the railing as she waited for James to make his way back to the top deck, her arms folded over her chest. She watched as he trudged slowly up the stairs, his head down and the look on his face was unreadable. Feeling eyes watching him James' head darted up and he saw Synnove watching him. She raised her hand and waved at him, wiggling her fingers and smiling which forced a smile to make its way to James' face. The hand that Synnove had waved at him with was adorned with his ring and he felt a surge of pride as several of the pirates caught sight of the gleaming band upon her wedding finger. He smirked at them and crossed the deck to stand in front of Synnove.

He placed his hands on her hips and bent down to kiss her forehead, "would you like me to walk you back to our room?" James asked. "I do not want you getting too much sun and it will not be long before it comes out strongly."Synnove smiled nervously as she shifted closer to James, her arms made their way around his waist and she let out a sigh.

"Is something wrong Synnove?" James asked, instantly on alert. His eyes scanned her face, searching for signs that she was in pain of some sort. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I am fine darling," Synnove replied. The weak smile on her face grew much larger and she squeezed her arms tightly around James, "you worry too much!"

James cupped her chin with his fingers forcing her face upwards and her eyes to make contact with his, "that may be the case, but I can tell that something is wrong."

Synnove looked away and bit her lip, "Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow wish to have a word with me about something, though they would not elaborate just what that something happens to be." She sighed and raised one hand to James' chest where she absentmindedly played with the buttons of his coat.

"What is it that they wish to speak about? Are they reneging on our deal?" James asked, feeling his anger rising at the mere thought. "I would like to see them try," he added, his voice low and full of venom.

Synnove caught the angry look on James' face and could not help but smile at him, "I do not think that it is anything so drastic," she said. "Captain Sparrow suggested that I bring you along with me as well. Hopefully it is not anything too bad," Synnove smiled weakly up at James and hoped that she sounded as convincing as she thought that she did.

James bent to kiss Synnove's forehead, "neither of the pirates will lay a finger upon you whilst I am around. I promise you that much," James said. The look on his face was stern and full of determination.

"I know," Synnove replied. She stroked his cheek with her fingertips and smiled as his expression softened. "We should go and see what they have to say now. I prefer to find out what the trouble is sooner rather than later." As soon as Synnove spoke those words she knew that she was lying to herself. She did not particularly want any more bad things to happen on her journey home, but with James by her side, nothing could be as bad as it seemed.

James took Synnove's hand from his cheek and laced her fingers with his, "let us go now then my love. I have decided that later today I will begin your lessons."  
"You mean that you will really teach me to fight with a sword?" Synnove asked excitedly.

"Yes, but we will do so in secret, preferably down in the brig where no one will see us."

Synnove raised an eyebrow at him, "why would we need to do it in secret."

"I think it would be best if the pirates did not know the extent of your strength. They may seem friendly now, but as soon as we cease to be profitable, they cease to be friendly."

"I see," Synnove replied nodding in agreement.

James slowly led Synnove over to the door of the Captains quarters where he knocked loudly on the heavy wooden door. Keys followed closely behind, the keys in his mouth jingling as he bounced along behind Synnove.

"Enter!" both pirate Captains shouted trying to outdo each other with their volume.

Synnove took and deep breath inwards as she waited for James to open the door and lead her inside. James squeezed her hand reassuringly before dropping his head down and kissing her quickly on the lips, "everything will be fine." He whispered against Synnove's lips. She nodded silently to him and squeezed back, keeping her fingers tightly entwined with James'. James pushed the door back and the pair stepped inside of the Captain's quarters.

Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow were both standing behind the large wooden desk. There was only one chair behind said desk, which explained why neither pirate was sitting. Captain Barbossa had his arms crossed over his chest while Captain Sparrow looked much more relaxed, until you saw his eyes. Captain Sparrow's eyes were full of worry and it made Synnove's stomach sink at the thought of what this worry could mean for James, her companions and herself.

"Take a seat lass," Captain Barbossa said. He pointed to the pair of chairs sitting on the side of the desk closest to where she and James were standing.

James pulled the chair out for her and waited until she was seated comfortably before sitting down in the second chair. James pulled his chair closer to Synnove, just in case this was news that she could not handle. Keys sat on the floor on Synnove's other side, his eyes darted from Synnove to the pirates and back again.

"There is something that we need to discuss with Synnie, but it would be best if you stay as well," Captain Sparrow said finally breaking the silence.

James glared at the pirate for daring to speak Synnove's first name rather than addressing her the way that he should be. He nodded his head silently and continued to keep his eyes trained on either pirate lest they try something while Synnove's guard was down.

"I be cutting straight to the point lass," Captain Barbossa said. "What year is it?" His eyes remained on hers as he asked the question. Captain Sparrow too had his eyes glued to Synnove, but James suspected that was for an entirely different reason.

"It is 1728 of course, the same year that it was yesterday," Synnove replied. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling as she thought of a way to prove that she was correct. The only thing she could think of was the Great Northern War. Surely the pirates had heard of it, and if not James most certainly would have, seeing as how his people had been at war with her people. "The Great Northern War ended in 1721 when I was eleven years of age. I am now eighteen years of age, therefore the year must be 1728," she concluded. She looked towards James and saw that his face was an unreadable mask. The pirate Captains shared a knowing glance with one another, though Synnove could not tell what it was about. Synnove felt James place a hand on her knee and he opened his mouth to speak but Captain Sparrow beat him to it.

"However long you think you were imprisoned in Davy Jones' Locker is clearly not how long you spent trapped there lass," Captain Sparrow said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Synnove asked the sound of distress evident in her voice.

"What year is it Mr. Norrington," Captain Barbossa asked. He ignored the worried sound in Synnove's voice and directed his attention to the man who was once his sworn enemy.

"The year is 1741 if I am correct," James replied. His eyes rested on Synnove's shocked form. Her eyes were wide and she bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Keys seemed to sense that Synnove was upset and he wiggled closer to her, placing his head and his keys on her knee.

"When did you realise that something was amiss?" Synnove asked, trying her best to remain calm.

"I first met Nettie, your Mother when I was only a boy," Captain Sparrow said. "I didn't think too much of it at the time when you announced yourself as her daughter."

Captain Barbossa interrupted, "but when we discussed it further we reached the conclusion that ye be closer to the age of being her Granddaughter rather than anything else. The last time I saw Nettie was in 1708 when she were pregnant with her first whelp."

"That was my older brother Sigurd, I was born in 1710," Synnove said. "So it really is true, I have lost thirteen years of my life trapped in Davy Jones' Locker and I was none the wiser." No longer able to hold back her tears Synnove slumped forward and began to sob. "My brothers will all be married by now with children of their own. I missed out on all of that," she said. James moved his arms up to cradle Synnove, he stroked her hair gently as her body was wracked with sobs. "Soren would have forgotten all about me. The twins would have forgotten me as well, they have, I mean had, such short attention spans."

"I'm sure it aint as bad as all that love, Captain Sparrow said trying to calm the crying woman. He hated it when women cried, they never seem to stop.

"I assure you Captain Sparrow that it is as bad as all that. Everything that I once knew is gone. My small group of friends would have grown and moved on. My Father, my dear Father might be buried and gone by now. Everything is gone!" Synnove exclaimed.

"That bein' the case lass we are goin' to be needing you consider your options."

"What on earth are you suggesting?" James demanded, though he knew full well what Captain Barbossa meant.

"We be pirates Mr. Norrington, we aint a charity service. If there be no chance of profit from this venture then I will have to put ye all ashore on the nearest island."

Keys growled at the older pirate decided that he was the reason for Synnove's tears. James tightened his grip on his crying lover, "I will take Synnove back to our room where she can sort through her thoughts. I expect you to respect that and leave us in peace until we have reached a decision," James said. His voice was full of anger and he glared at the two pirate Captains, daring them to say anything against his decision. James stood from his chair helped Synnove to her feet.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and walked slowly with her to the door. Synnove's small body was heaving each time she tried to catch her breath between streams of tears. James kept his tight grip on her, Keys trailing faithfully behind, as he led her down the stairs. She was leaning heavily against his and clutching at his shirt, her sharp nails digging into his flesh. James ignored the strange looks he got from the pirates and quickly walked Synnove to her room, thankful that they did not run into Gillette or Groves on the way. He could not face explaining anything to them just yet, not until Synnove knew what she was going to do.

He opened the door to their room and she fell onto the bed as if she were boneless. James lifted Keys so that the beast could watch over Synnove, "I am going to get you some water. I will not be long, he said.

Synnove's hand shot out to clutch onto his shirtsleeve, "no," she whimpered. "Please do not leave my side right now James. I need you by my side."

"Alright my love," James agreed. He sat down on the bed and Synnove shuffled closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his lap. James stroked his fingers through Synnove's hair and she appeared to calm down, until another unexpected surge of tears spilt forth.

"Everything I knew and loved is gone James, absolutely everything. I can never get it back," Synnove whispered. "I can never go home."

"You still have me Synnove, you will always have me," James said in an attempt to cheer Synnove up.

"I know min kärlek," Synnove said. "I love you and I am sorry that I dragged you into this mess. All of the plans I had made for you to meet my Father and my brothers will never come to fruition. I always imagined the pair of you would get along so well, but now we will never have the chance to know."

"If it makes you feel any better Synnove, my family thinks that I am dead as well," James said.

Synnove smiled weakly at James as she rolled onto her back, her head still in his lap. Keys' head was lying on Synnove's stomach and she petted him while she slowly calmed herself down. Her eyes were still watering with tears but she smiled nontheless. "It makes me feel a tiny bit better, I do not feel so alone," Synnove said.

"You will never be alone again my love," James replied.

"Will you lie down with me properly please?" Synnove requested.

"If you wish," James replied. He shuffled down the bed so that he was lying on his back. Synnove cuddled into his side and buried her face in his neck where she continued to sob quietly until she had fallen asleep. There was nothing that James could do to change the situation and, not for the first time in his life, James felt utterly powerless.

"I love you Synnove," James said. "I hope that my love will be enough to get you through this."

"Your love will always be enough James," Synnove said. She was not quite as asleep as James had thought that she was. "I promise that I will feel better later."

* * *

So, who saw that one coming? No one? I thought so :D  
I found the idea of the passage of time in the Locker to be an interesting one so I played around with it. I hope you all enjoy that little twist!  
Thank you to everyone who has left a reivew, or subscribed to Serendipity.


	54. One

Synnove fell into a blissful sleep cuddled up to James, though her mind had been racing moments before now she was completely calm. Her worries about what the future would hold now that she had no home return to melted away. James always made her feel so clam and protected, she fell asleep safe in the knowledge that he would keep her safe. They could sort everything out later, right now nothing mattered except for James and Keys.

Synnove shot up from the bed and gasped for air. Her fingers clawed at the ceiling and her body thrashed about.

"What is wrong Synnove?" James said. He was not laying next to her like he had been earlier, he was leaning against the doorframe watching Synnove with a look of concern on his face. Keys stood at his side, his ears raised as he watched his female master's apparent distress.

"I just had a nightmare that is all," Synnove said. She placed her hand over her heart and felt it racing beneath her fingertips.

"What was this nightmare about?"

"It is the same nightmare that I have been having ever since we returned from Davy Jones' Locker, but this time it felt even more real," she explained. "This time it started differently as well, there were three women and they were whispering to each other. They were standing on a cliff underneath a large tree, it was raining heavily but they did not seem to feel any of it. The sea was churning; it was almost like the sea was angry about something. The oldest woman stepped forwards towards the edge of the cliff and raised her hand, she said something, I know she did," Synnove told James. "Then lightning began to crash, almost as if she caused it to do so. The next thing I knew there were nets around my body and they were pulling me into the sea."

"What were the three women saying?" James asked.

"I do not remember," Synnove said with a sigh. "It seemed incredibly important at the time, but whatever it was they were saying is completely gone now James. The only thing I have left to show for my nightmare is this." She rolled up her sleeves and held out her wrists, showing James the crisscrossing cuts all up her arms. James starred in confusion at the cuts, stepping forwards to Synnove so that he could inspect the injuries for himself. He sat himself down on the bed in front of Synnove and took her hands in his; she winced as his fingertips ran over the shallow cuts on her skin. Keys jumped up on the bed and sat himself down next to Synnove, his head on her lap watching as James continued to trail his fingers over Synnove's arms.

"When you are with me the nightmares are never present, but when you are not there…" Synnove trailed off. She thought about all of the times she had awoken thrashing about in bed, calling out for someone to save her from drowning in the black ocean depths. Malvina had once saved her from her nightmare, though not in the kindest of fashions and the other times she had managed to save herself. Whenever James and Keys were around the nightmares did not visit her, when they were not sharing the same bed, she felt helpless each time she closed her eyes. Whoever was calling to her in her dreams was not to be trusted, they only wanted to hurt her, most likely they wanted to kill her. Those three strange women were not to be trusted either, they gave Synnove a bad feeling. She wished that she could remember what they had said, but every time she thought she could hear the echo of their words, they disappeared like whispers on the wind. Synnove had finally found happiness and she was not going to let her nightmares take that away. "Where did you two go?" she asked. She stroked Keys' head with her fingertips and smiled at his large brown eyes as they stared up at her.

"The beast wanted out," James said. "We could not have been more than five minutes I assure you. Would you like me to go and get some bandages for these cuts? I would hate for them to become infected."

"There is no need James, they are only shallow wounds. They will fade in a few days and be nothing more than unpleasant memories."

James raised his eyebrows at Synnove but said nothing. He lowered his head down to her arms and placed a kiss on the middle of each wrist, "if you are sure that everything will be alright."

"I am sure my love," Synnove said. "Next time you and Keys leave would you mind waking me first please?"

"As you wish," he said.

"Or you could just promise to never leave my side," Synnove replied smiling. Even though she knew it was simply not possible to be together every waking minute, she would attempt to spend as much time as possible with her James.

"If it were possible my love, you know that I would," he said. James pulled down Synnove's shirt sleeves and proceeded to button them up for her.

"Thank you James," she said. "You always take sure great care of me." Keys raised his head from Synnove's lap and licked her injured hand. "Thank you as well Keys." Synnove ducked down and kissed the dog's head earning a playful head-butt in return. She turned to James to give him a kiss on the cheek but caught the decidedly unimpressed look on his face and decided against it.

"Mr. Norrington!" Mr. Gibbs called through their door.

"The door is unlocked Mr. Gibbs, you may come in," Synnove said before James could get a word out.

Mr. Gibbs pushed the door open but stood on the threshold, not entering their room. His eyes flicked between James and Synnove, studying how closely the pair was sitting to one another. He did not want to think about what he could have walked in on had he not announced his presence first. "We be needing you on deck fer a moment lad," Mr. Gibbs said addressing James. He then turned to Synnove and said, "we only need him fer a little while. He will be back to ye soon enough."

Synnove pouted at James, "I suppose that I shall have to let you go then," she said reluctantly.

James seemed to have forgotten about Synnove kissing the dog and leant down to press his lips to Synnove's in a gentle kiss. He whispered, "be careful," in her ear and stood up from the bed. James then turned to Keys and gave the dog strict orders to stay with Synnove and although the dog did not understand the commands being given, he wagged his tail at James and crawled onto Synnove until half of Keys' body was on top of Synnove. He continued to lay on Synnove, wagging his tail as he watched James follow behind Mr. Gibbs.

Once they were both gone Synnove let out a long sigh and threw herself back on the bed. She continued to stroke Keys and ruffle his fur as she stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts continued to drift back to places where she did not want them to be so Synnove leapt up from the bed, startling Keys in the process and making her way to visit Yulia and Antanasia. She had decided not to tell them about their predicament until she and James had come to a conclusion about what to do, but she knew that she could not hide it for much longer. With Captain Barbossa's added threat of dumping them on the nearest deserted island looming over her Synnove was glad at least James was able to keep calm.

Synnove knocked on the Osmosechu sisters' room door and waited until she heard Yulia invite her in. Keys wandered into the room and made himself comfortable spread out on the floor in front of Synnove. Antanasia was not in the room, but Yulia was and when she saw that it was Synnove who was her guest she put her book down and turned her attention to her friend. "Good morning Synnove, or is it good afternoon? I can no longer tell anymore," Yulia said with a half smile adorning her face.

"I think that it is afternoon by now, but I know what you mean about not knowing what time it is," Synnove replied. "How are you and Antanasia faring today?"

"Antanasia is well, it appears that she has taken a shine to Captain Barbossa and those two other pirates, I think they are called Ragetti and Pintel. She is off pestering them right now no doubt," Yulia said. "As for myself, I am doing well. How are you and Mr. Norrington?"

"James and I are both fine, so is Keys as you can see," Synnove said. The dog selected that particular moment to roll onto his back and wiggle about scratching some doggy itch.

"Synnove, can I ask you a question?" Yulia asked. Synnove nodded silently in response, leaning against the doorframe of the Osmosechu sisters' room, her hands tucked behind her back.

"How did you James tell you that he loved you?"

Synnove smiled at Yulia, "I told him that I loved him and after mere moments which felt like an eternity, he told me that he loved me back."

Yulia's eyes widened, "were you not terrified to confess your love?"

"Yes, quite possibly more terrified than I have ever been before," Synnove admitted. "Then when I thought about how painful it would be if I never told James how I feel about him, I knew that that pain would be so much worse. I think that even if James would have rejected my love that I would have been happier knowing how he felt than spending the rest of my days lamenting what could have been had I possessed the courage to speak out," Synnove said. She smiled at Yulia knowing what the younger girl was thinking about, "Groves is a good man Yulia, you should fight for him if you think that he is where your heart belongs.

Yulia gasped, "how did you know?"

"Antanasia may or may not have mentioned something along those lines, though myself and Gillette have had our suspicions for a while now."

"You mean Mr. Gillette knows my secret as well!" Yulia cried. "I suppose your Mr. Norrington has deduced the same."

Synnove giggled, "Gillette is far more observant in the matters of the heart than James. I fear that James never even suspected my affections for him until after I had told him so, he is not too perceptive when it comes to the female gender. I have not discussed your situation with him and I will not do so if you do not want me to."

"Do you think that Mr. Norrington will say anything to Mr. Groves?"

"James will not say a word if I tell him not too," Synnove said waving her hand in a dismissive motion.

Yulia's eyes widened as she caught sight of the ring adorning Synnove's finger. She pointed at it, shaking her finger, "w-w-what is that?" she asked.

Synnove beamed at her friend, "this is a wedding ring," she announced proudly. She held her hand out so that Yulia could see the ring properly.

"Where did Mr. Norrington get it from?"

"I told him not to tell me so that it could be a surprise. He said that it was not obtained by the most honest of methods, but I do not care," Synnove stated. "James selected this for me and that is all that will ever matter to me."

"It is beautiful!" Yulia exclaimed.

"Now enough about me!" Synnove said. "What are you going to do about Groves? Are you going to confess, or are you going to keep it all inside?" Synnove mentioned the later idea in a disapproving tone so that Yulia would catch the hint.

"I d-do not know Synnove," Yulia said with a sigh. "What if he does not return my feelings?"

"Then you will have my shoulder to cry on, Antanasia's as well. You are a strong woman, look how far you have come already! You used to stutter in Groves' presence, but now he escorts you to dinner and I know for a fact that you both have taken turns about the deck in the fine weather. You used to be afraid to speak to men, but I heard from James that you told him off, during our … for lack of a better word, argument," Synnove said. "I know that you are afraid now Yulia, but you will never know if you do not try."

Yulia's frown changed into a large smile and she stood from her bed crossing to Synnove. She wrapped her arms around Synnove and squeezed her into a tight hug, "thank you for believing in me Synnove. No one has ever had such confidence in me before," Yulia said. A lone tear slipped down her cheek, "perhaps you are correct. He has asked me to call him Theodore, but it will take a bit of getting used to, he has such a handsome name. I have told him that he can call me Yulia and he already does," she said. "He is so kind and sweet, I have never met a man like him. I cannot believe that we both used to live in Port Royal, yet our paths never crossed." Yulia knew that she was rambling, but she simply could not stop herself from gushing about Theodore Groves.

"Did he tell you about…" Synnove began but stopped herself. She did not want to upset Yulia or put her off from the task at hand.

"Yes, he told me about Evelyn," Yulia said sadly. "He told me all about how she broke his heart and walked all over the discarded pieces, though he did not use those words to describe what she did." Yulia smiled as she added, "he did mention that his heart has begun to heal, I just hope that it has healed enough to let me in."

"Would you like me to have a discreet word with Gillette and see if he can find anything out for you about Groves?"

Yulia shook her white blonde head, "no thank you Synnove. I think that you have done enough for me already. I think that I am going to go and find Mr. Groves, I mean Theodore right now!"

"Run along then," Synnove replied. "Do not let anything stop you!"

Yulia stepped out of her embrace with Synnove and dashed out of her room, she had a mission to complete and she was not going to rest until she said what needs to be said.

Synnove smiled at Yulia's retreating form, hoping that Yulia was successful in her endeavour. James had gone to get Synnove something to drink and he had been gone for a while now, she was beginning to worry about him. She knew that there was no real need to worry about him, but since the revelation about her lost thirteen years she realised that it was no longer safe on the _Black Pearl_. She heard the clicking of heavy boots against the wooden floor making their way towards her direction.

"Synnove?" James called out.

"Yes my love," she replied stepping out of her hiding place and pouncing on James, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him close.

"I was wondering where you had run off to," he replied. His arm slipped around her waist and he smiled down at Synnove. "And what, pray tell, is the cause of that gorgeous smile on your face?"

Synnove blushed, "Yulia is going to confess her feelings for Groves, she said that I gave her the courage to do so."

"The elder Osmosechu sister has feelings for Groves?" James asked in disbelief.

Synnove giggled, "I knew that you would not have figured it out. I actually thought it was rather obvious that Yulia had feelings for Groves."

James grunted at Synnove, "perhaps it was obvious to you. But I do not make it my business to find where any hearts lay other than yours."

Synnove rose on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on James' cheek, "as you should." She placed her hand over his heart and said, "this belongs to me and me alone, yes?"

"Indeed," he replied. James caught Synnove's hand in his own and brought it to his lips. "I was a fool to ever think otherwise. If only I had met you years ago I would have been save a lot of heartache."

"You said that you were no good with words Admiral Norrington, I believe that you were lying to me," Synnove announced. "You are turning out to be such the charmer."

"I am no longer an Admiral and I would never lie to you. Perhaps you simply bring out parts in me that I never knew existed."

"You will always be an Admiral to me James; you deserve the highest position of honour for all that you have done for me."

James smiled at Synnove and pulled her body closer to his "say that I did what I did for selfish reasons, would I still be honourable in your eyes?"

"That would depend on your motivation."

"So that I could have you all to myself," James explained.

Synnove tilted her head to the side and drummed her fingers on his chest, "you are still honourable to me!" she exclaimed. "I must admit that I would have done the same had the tables been turned. A large part of me was dreading retuning home because I thought that we would have to part ways and that I would never see you again."

James nodded, "I too was dreading your return home," he stated. "Although I thought that I was prepared to leave you behind and I kept telling myself that I was ready, I was not and I do not think that I ever would have been able to leave you."

Synnove smiled but said nothing. She pulled James closer to her and clung tightly to his shirt, her head resting against his chest.

"Is something wrong Synnove?" James asked. He turned so that his arms were around her waist and his chin was sitting on top of her head.

"Nothing is wrong," she replied.

"If that is so, then why do you sound so glum?" James asked. Synnove said something, but her voice was muffled by the thick material of James' clothing which her face was buried in. "Pardon me?"

"I miss my family," she mumbled. She was barely holding back her tears as she spoke, "I cannot help but think that I will never see my dear brothers or my Father again. I know that it will do no good to continue to fret over lost time, but my mind will not stay at ease."

"I am sorry Synnove," he said. "I know that there is nothing that I can do to change things, but is there anything in particular you desire from me?"

"Just stay right here," she mumbled. "As long as you are right here with me, you cannot disappear." Silent tears streaked down her pale cheeks and were absorbed by James' shirt as quickly as they had fallen. "Please never leave me James," Synnove whimpered.

"Never," James repeated. He stroked his fingers through her hair and rocked her gently from side to side, much like he had done the last time she was so upset.

"Calypso did this to me," Synnove said, her voice full of venom and anger. "She stole me away from my family, from the ones I loved and she imprisoned me in the Locker." James looked at Synnove, unable to keep the hurt from his deep green eyes, Synnove however did not see his pain. Synnove's voice softened, "though her actions did bring me to you. I can both thank and curse the Goddess for what she has done." James' sadness evaporated as Synnove said those words and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you James Norrington, you are the only thing that is keeping me here."

"I love you as well Synnove, but please do not speak like that."

"I am sorry," Synnove mumbled, though she was not at all sorry for her words.

"What about your family James? You never speak of them, do you miss them?" Synnove asked.

"No, I cannot say that I do miss them," James admitted. It was the first time that he admitted such a thing out loud for fear of judgement, but he knew Synnove would not hold such feelings against him. He pulled back slightly from Synnove so that he could proper justify his words.

"Why is that?" she asked. "Or is it something that you would rather not talk about?"

"Come with me back to our room, I would feel more comfortable discussing it in private," James said.

"Alright," Synnove replied. She reluctantly moved out of her tight embrace with James, still keeping one arm around his back to hold him close. James began to lead them both down the hall to their room. He sat down on the bed against the headboard and Synnove sat next to him. She leant against his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle making sure that there was still enough room for Keys to make himself comfortable. Keys lay down between them, he dropped his carefully guarded keys into Synnove's lap for the first time and placed his head on James' lap.

"He has never done that before," Synnove said. "He barely even drops these for long enough to eat or drink."

"He trusts you with his most prized possession, you should be proud of yourself," James said, if somewhat bitterly.

Synnove caught the tone of James' voice and laughed, "I am sure that he trusts you as well darling. Perhaps he would be more inclined to leave his keys with you if you did not insist on calling him 'the beast'," Synnove said, imitating James' voice.

"Perhaps," he replied, his eyebrow quirked upwards at Synnove.

Synnove smiled, "please continue, I wish to learn about the family that created you."

James let out an unimpressed sigh and began his tale, "I was the youngest out of five children and I suppose that meant that to my parents I was expendable. That was of course before my eldest brother was killed by pirates shortly after he joined the Royal Navy and my other brother became sick and died," James said pausing. "I have two older sisters as well, but they are both married and have children by now. They were never too fond of me I must admit; I was too young to be interesting."

Synnove rubbed her hands up and down James' chest, "I am sorry."

"There is no need for you to be sorry," James said. "My Mother never took much interest in me either, she was too preoccupied with teaching my sisters to be proper ladies and grooming them for the day that they would marry. When my eldest brother was killed she devoted all of her time to my other brother. Then when he died my Mother was devastated, she wanted even less to do with me than before. I think she feared that I would die as well so she pushed me away. As for my Father, one of the earliest memories I have of him is of the two of us on a mission to pursue the pirate Captain Teague. He wanted to foster my hatred of pirates and I suppose that his lessons panned out the way that he desired. I remember that our ship was under attack and during the battle I was knocked into the sea. I was too young to swim and I remember fearing that I was going to die until someone plucked me out of the water and saved my life. That someone was the very same Captain Teague that we had been hunting down," James paused in his tale and took a deep breath. "I think that my Father was happy to see me alive, but I will always remember him saying that he would rather I die than be rescued by a pirate. I will never forget those words."

"I know that you will be a much better Father to any and all children that we have," Synnove said with great confidence.

"I hope so," James replied. "I truly do."

"Do you ever think of telling them that you are still alive? You could try to mend those broken bridges and become close to your family."

"I fear that such an endeavour would be pointless."

"Nothing is ever pointless my love," Synnove said.

"They think that I am dead, I would prefer if it would stay that way."

"As you wish," she said. "I should not have brought this subject up, I have only upset you."

"Think nothing of it, I am not upset."

"If you say so," she said. Synnove pressed her lips softly to his cheek and rubbed her fingers along his chin. "I promise that we will both be better than them. No child of ours will ever feel so unloved."

"I never said that," James protested. He hated to show weakness in front of Synnove, but she was his safe place.

"You did not have to," she said. James buried his face into Synnove's hair and whispered an almost silent "thank you."


	55. Endlessly, She Said

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* * *

"Theodore?" Yulia called as she reached the top deck. Her head spun as she tried to locate him and her nails dug into the palm of her hand as she attempted to calm herself down.

"Yes Yulia?" Groves said. He had stood up from his position on the ground scrubbing the deck. Yulia had not seen him because he had been hidden by a barrel containing something of importance.

"I was wondering if I may have a p-private word with you?" Yulia requested.

Groves raised an eyebrow at Yulia, "you are stuttering, is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing is wrong," she said. A blush quickly crept up on her face which she could not shake away. "I would just like to have a word with you."

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "Shall we make our way down the stairs to the room Gillette and I share? Gillette is not currently in there, so if you desire privacy, without your … inquisitive younger sister listening in, I suggest that would be the best place."

The blush on Yulia's face darkened and she nodded silently in reply to his suggestion. He threaded his arm though hers and walked with her across the deck. They moved quickly so that none of the pirates would dare interrupt them on their way.

Groves guided Yulia slowly through the levels of the ship, keeping a tight hold on her as the ocean forced the ship to sway beneath their feet. She stumbled a couple of times, knowing that she would never get used to the constant rocking and rolling of the ship. Groves kept Yulia steady as he pushed the door to Gillette and his room.

"I am sorry about the current state of this room," Groves said as he cast a critical eye over his current accommodation. "Gillette has a bad habit of leaving things where they fall."

"That is alright Theodore," Yulia said blushing. "My younger brother was so much worse; sometimes it was impossible to even see the floor."

"Please feel free to take a seat on my bed; I think it is the only place that Gillette has not decorated," Theodore said. "What is it that you wished to speak about?" Theodore asked, jumping straight into it.

"I-I-I have a c-c-con-confession to m-make. B-but I do n-not kn-know how to tell y-y-y-y-ou," Yulia stuttered.

"You can tell me anything Yulia," he said. He felt his worrying increase with each stuttered word Yulia said. He knew her well enough by now to know that she only stuttered when she was nervous or scared and he hated the fact that he was making her feel that way.

"I-I-I-I-I," Yulia began but found herself stuck in a loop unable to complete her sentence.

"Please try to calm down Yulia," Theodore said. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Yulia did as she was told, keeping her eyes shut as she made her confession at last. "I am in love with you Theodore Groves," she said quickly. The words had spilled from her lips so quickly that Groves almost missed what she had said, almost. Yulia's eyes snapped open as she waited for Groves' reply, be it positive or negative, she felt that she was prepared.

"I am sorry Yulia but my heart is not completely healed yet. I fear that I am not ready to love again," Groves confessed. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he saw the smile on Yulia's face disappear.

Yulia did her best to mask how hurt she was feeling, but she never had been too good at hiding her emotions. "No T-t-theodore, it is I who is s-sorry. I remember how m-m-much your former fiancé hurt y-y-y-you, I should have known that s-such a wound d-does not heal over ni-night," she said. "Please forget I said a-anything. I would appreciate if we could r-re-remain friends at l-least."

Groves let out a sigh, "I fear that you have misunderstood what I meant dear Yulia." He stepped closer to her and cupped her chin with his fingers. Groves forced Yulia's eyes up to meet his and was captivated by the crying beauty standing before him. He brushed her tears away with the gentle flick of his thumb. "I meant that though I am not ready to love again right at this moment, I know that you have the gentle heart to help me on my way. It may take a while for my heart to heal completely, but if you stay by my side then perhaps I can learn to love once again."

"Do you really think that I –"Yulia began until Groves cut her off.

"You have the kindest heart I have ever had the fortune of coming across," Groves said. He smiled at Yulia and fought his urge to press his lips to hers. "I have full confidence that you will be the one to heal my heart dear Yulia."

"Thank you Theodore," Yulia replied.

Groves wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a tight hug, "I did not mean to cause you heartache Yulia."

"You did nothing wrong," she said between sobbing gasps.

"I promise you that I will learn to love again," Groves whispered.

* * *

Day bleed into night as Synnove and James continued to sit together in their room and talk until they almost ran out of things to say. Neither of them broached the subject of what they would do now that they had nowhere to go. Synnove was glad that James had not brought the subject up for she felt safe as long as she did not think about it.

Keys followed them to the dining hall, though Synnove did not see Yulia like she had been hoping to. Groves was nowhere to be found either so Synnove decided to take that as a good sign. As usual Keys had a healthy helping of half of Synnove's dinner and James told her off for feeding the dog so much when she should be eating it instead. Synnove just smiled sweetly at James and gave the dog more of her food as if he had said nothing. "You know James, he would probably give you his keys if you shared your food with him," she pointed out.

"I would prefer to have my dinner all to myself," James replied. He smirked at Synnove as he put a large spoonful of food into his mouth.

"Poor Keys," she said addressing the dog. "At least you know that I will always feed you." She stroked the dog's head and fed him another piece of heavily salted meat. Each time her hand moved to take food to her mouth Keys would watch, his eyes trailing behind her hand as he waited for more food to come his way. James fought the urge to roll his eyes at the predictable beast and gave him a small piece of meat from his own plate.

"Thank you darling," she said with a large smile plastered to her face.

"Yes, well, do not get used to it," he said before adding, "either of you."

"Of course not James, I would never dream of it," Synnove replied. She placed a piece of meat the same size that James had given Keys onto her fork and held it out to him, silently asking if he wanted it.

James shook his head and said, "no thank you Synnove, you need to eat it more than I."

"If you insist," Synnove replied taking a large bite of her food. "I do not mind sharing with you!"

"But you share with the beast first," James grumbled. Synnove's eyes widened and she looked deeply distraught as her mind searched for something to say. Her actions had made James think that he was second best to the dog and she could not think of a way to take back what she had said. James studied Synnove's face as emotions darted across it and in a moment he knew what she was thinking. It made James proud to know that Synnove cared so much for his feelings, but he had not been seriously upset by her actions. He had not meant to upset her in the least, sometimes she worried too much for her own good.

"I was only playing with you Synnove," James said.

"Were you," she paused searching for the correct word, "pulling my leg like Gillette enjoys doing?" Synnove tilted her head to the side and smiled softly at James.

"Yes my love," he admitted. He watched as Synnove's frown was replaced by a smile and could not help but return the gesture.

"That was not very nice James, it is so difficult to tell when you are joking!" she exclaimed. "I will bet that you always win a game of cards."

"I must admit that I have never played," James said. "Having already lost everything once, I would not like to tempt fate for a second time."

"I see," she said. "But you still have an excellent poker face my darling. You truly had me worried for a moment there."

"I did not intend to worry you so much," James replied. He stretched his arm across the small table and placed his hand on top of Synnove's. "But I am glad that you worry so."

Synnove smiled and placed a hand on top of James', rubbing the back of his hand. "I will always worry about you."

Keys, realising that he was not a part of the conversation wandered closer to Synnove and placed his head on her lap. His dark brown eyes gazed up at her, begging most convincingly for more food to make its way over. Synnove let go of James hand and held out her last piece of meat to the wide eyes dog. He gently took the food from her hand and it was gone in a flash, down his throat and into his stomach. James rolled his eyes as the dog now turned his attention to James, who had one large piece of meat left on his plate. He cut the piece of meat into three mostly equal sections and deposited one on Synnove's plate and one into the dogs waiting mouth. He silently ate the final piece, his eyes shifting from Synnove to Keys.

"Thank you James," Synnove said before daintily placing the food in her mouth.

James rose from the table slowly before crossing to behind Synnove and pulling her chair out for her. He offered Synnove his arm and helped her rise out of her chair. Instead of dropping James' hand once she was standing Synnove laced her fingers through his and gave them a tight squeeze.

"Would you like to start your lessons tonight?" James whispered in her ear as he ducked closer.

Her eyes lit up at his question, "yes please!" she exclaimed happily.

"First we will need to find Gillette, you will need to borrow his sword."

"Alright James," she replied. "I think that he is on the top deck somewhere."

The pair walked hand in hand to the top deck where they quickly located Gillette. Through hushed tones they told Gillette of their plans, to which he easily agreed. Gillette surveyed the pirates, checking that none were watching them before passing the sword to James.

"Go easy on her," Gillette said with a smirk. "Synnove is only a small woman, you cannot be so rough with her as you were with me."

"I do not know what you are talking about," James said.

"I lost count of the amount of times you sent me flying when you were teaching me how to fight," Gillette complained.

Synnove smiled and squeezed James' hand, "I am sure that he would never do anything like that!"

Gillette raised an eyebrow, "ah but love gives one rose tinted glasses. He could do practically anything and you would never think less of him."

"I suppose that he could, but dear James would never do something too bad."

James grunted, "I do not appreciate being talked about as if I were not present."

"I am sorry darling," Synnove said.

Gillette snickered and said, "yes darling, I am sorry too."

Synnove simply could not stop herself from bursting into a fit of laughter at Gillette's choice of words, James however, did not appreciate his former subordinate's new fondness for jokes.

James opened his mouth to say something but Synnove stopped him by placing a finger to his lips.

"We must take our leave now," Synnove said. "Thank you very much for lending me your sword Gillette, I hope to return it to you soon."

"Take as long as you wish Miss Synnove, I am in no hurry to have it back," Gillette said.

James grunted and tugged on Synnove' hand, dragging her along behind him in silence. James walked at his usual brisk pace which forced Synnove to walk much faster to catch up with him. Down each level the pair walked, accompanied by Keys, until they reached the brig.

The brig was largely devoid of light apart from a couple of low burning lamps hanging on the wall. James quickly set about moving empty barrels out of the middle of the brig so that they could have enough room to move properly.

"While I teach you how to use a sword," James said pausing to take a deep breath. "I will not be the same man that I always am around you."

"What do you mean?"

"I will be your teacher, your mentor. I will not go easy on you because you are small, because you are a woman, or because you are the one who has stolen my heart," he said. The look on his face was stern, but James' eyes betrayed him as he spoke his final words.

"I understand," Synnove said nodding. "Just hold that thought for one moment." Synnove dropped her sword to the floor and rose onto the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled James tightly to her and pressed her lip softly against his. James smiled into the kiss and wrapped his own arms around her waist, bending slightly to make it easier for Synnove to reach him. Her smaller body moulded into his perfectly, and her breasts pushed forward into his chest. Synnove broke their kiss for the briefest of moments and trailed her hands into his hair and pulling his lips even closer. James kissed Synnove hungrily, his lips raining down on hers as if they provided life. One of James' hands dropped down lower to rest on the small of her back, pushing her body closer. His lips parted and James' tongue trailed along Synnove's bottom lip, asking for entrance. Synnove smiled and gave in to his silent request, her lips parting slowly and allowing his tongue to dart inside. James' tongue rubbed and swirled with hers. Slowly James pushed Synnove back against the wall, pinning her in place with the weight of his own body. Synnove's fingers tangled into James' long hair, gripping him as tightly as she could without hurting him. She let out a soft moan as James squeezed her hips, her lips broke away from his as she fought to catch a breath. James did not miss a beat and lowered his lips to her neck. He nuzzled his face into her neck and placed gentle kisses on the exposed flesh. His kisses were soft, ghosting upon her skin and forcing a delighted giggle to erupt from her mouth. James laughed quietly into Synnove's neck as he heard Synnove's sounds of happiness.

"I love you James," Synnove whispered.

"And I love you my Synnove," he said. James reluctantly tore his lips away from Synnove's flesh and rested his forehead against hers. "I am sorry if I got too carried away with my actions. I did not mean to put you in such a compromising position," James apologised. He removed his arms from making contact with her body and stepped away from Synnove.

The smile on Synnove's face fell, "you should not apologise for doing something that you want dearly to do."

"But I-" James began to speak.

"Please James, if I had wanted you to stop I would have made it perfectly clear to you," Synnove said. She let out a long sigh and pushed her body further away from his, wrapping her arms around herself dejectedly.

"What is wrong?"

Synnove forced a smile upon her face, but James could tell it was false. "Nothing is wrong my darling," she said cheerfully.

"You are a terrible liar Synnove," James said. He moved closer to Synnove and cupped her chin, forcing her eyes upwards. "Tell me what is wrong."

Synnove tried her best to look away, but James' intense green gaze had her captured. "You always push me so far away," she said quietly. "It is almost as if you are afraid that I am getting too close, as if you are afraid."

James stiffened, "I am so sorry my love. I never had any intention of hurting you." He pulled Synnove's arms away from her body and replaced them with his own, stroking his fingers through her hair. "You must understand that I am not used to receiving such affection from a beautiful woman like yourself, from anyone in fact. You are the first and only one who has ever held so tightly on to me, who has trusted me so completely and given me unconditional love. Of course as an Admiral I was trusted, but that was because of my station, the people I protected knew nothing about the man I truly am. I have never been loved before Synnove, never."

Synnove rubbed her hands up and down James' back, trying to soothe his obvious angst. She was careful to be gentle with his still injured back. Synnove leant her head against his chest where she could hear his heart beating, "I apologise James, I know that it will take you a while to get used to my affection, but I do not think that I can stop giving it to you."

"I never want you to stop," James said quickly. "Please Synnove, keep showing me your love and I will try my best to do the same."

Synnove smiled, sincerely this time and said, "of course I will. It would take a lot more than something like that to scare me away from you."

"Would you like to start you training now, or would you rather wait for another night?" James asked changing the subject to something he was more familiar with.

"I would like to start right now!" she exclaimed.

James bent and picked up Synnove's sword from where it had fallen, passing it back to her waiting hands. He hated the very sight of her holding a weapon, but he understood her desire to not feel so helpless. "I think that we should start with you trying to gain some ground against me. I want you to come at me with everything that you have, and then I will begin correcting you from there."

"Alright," Synnove said nodding. She watched as James took his sword from his side and stood in a defensive position. His sword was raised straight in front of his body and his weight rested on his back leg. Synnove mimicked James' stance as best she could, but her body was not as rigid as his. Slowly she began to inch forwards, she lowered her sword slightly and charged at James. The sounds of metal clashing against metal rang through the brig and in one swift move James knocked the sword from Synnove's hand. It clattered to the floor and Synnove stood completely still staring in wide eyed wonder at James. He gave Synnove a devilishly handsome smirk and gestured for her to pick her weapon back up. Again she charged at James, throwing her full weight behind her sword. This time she managed to last a little longer before her sword clattered to the ground. Throughout her lesson James was silent, studying the way that Synnove carried herself. Again and again Synnove advanced upon James to the same conclusion each time. Each time James knocked Synnove back he pushed her harder until she fell to the floor with her sword. Instantly James felt guilty for being so rough with her, he dropped to the ground beside her and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Are you alright?

Synnove was breathing heavily, but she flashed James a wide happy smile. "You are amazing James, completely and utterly unmovable!"

"Thank you Synnove," James said. He felt a surge of pride race though his body at her description. "Shall we finish for tonight? I know that you are tired so do not bother denying it my love."

"Do you think that I deserve it?" Synnove asked. "You said that you would not go easy on me, yet I get the distinct impression that you are."

James smiled tucked a loose strand of Synnove's hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. Keys chose that moment to make his way over to the pair. The dog sat himself down next to Synnove and his eyes darted between the pair. "I do not know what you are talking about," James said. He rose back up to his full height and extended his hand down to help Synnove up.

"Of course you do not," Synnove replied, her arms instinctively wrapped around James.

"We should return to our room now," he said. "We will train again tomorrow night but tomorrow we will begin slightly earlier. It will give us more time to work on improvement."

"Shall I return Gillette's sword to him?" Synnove asked, barely managed to hide her yawn behind her hand.

"No, we can worry about that tomorrow morning," James said. "You need to go to bed and get a decent night's sleep. I know what you have many things on your mind right now my love. Sleep always helps me think, so maybe it will do the same for you."

"I hope so," Synnove said with a sigh. "I would be completely lost without you."

"We will think of something, trust me," he said.

"I always have."

* * *

**Please leave a review!**


	56. Scars

Early the next morning Synnove sought out Mr. Gibbs for his advice as acting ship's doctor. She quickly found the man leaning against a barrel, clutching his temples and rubbing his fingers in a massage motion over them. Synnove approached him quietly, correctly assuming that he had a hangover. Quietly she asked him what she should do about James' bandages, she kept her voice low and soft so as not to offend Mr. Gibbs' sensibilities.

"Ye need to let the wounds breathe in order fer them to heal properly," Mr. Gibbs explained. "Ye need to leave the bandages off fer a few days"

Synnove nodded at the acting doctor, "alright Mr. Gibbs," she said. "If you think that this is what would be best for James, then that is what we shall do."

"Aye lassie, that would be best," he said. "I would also advise that he do less work aboard the ship, but I know the kind of man Norrington is."

Synnove smiled, "yes, James does as he pleases. I shall tell him of your orders as doctor; though getting him to follow said orders will be a mission in itself."

Mr. Gibbs smiled widely at Synnove, "aye that may be true. But I've always found the female gender to be very persuasive."

Synnove blushed at the older man's words before excusing herself and leaving to go and find James.

Keys bounced along behind Synnove, his most prized possession clinking between his teeth. He spotted James before Synnove did and ran over to him, his tail wagging back and forth excitedly. James had been making his way down the stairs and back below deck when Keys found him, his face cast in shadows and his hair hanging in his eyes. James turned around at the familiar sound as was meet with the dog butting its head into his leg for attention. James bent down and ruffled the dog's fur, not seeing Synnove making her way over to him as well.

"Where is Synnove?" James asked the dog, "you are supposed to be watching over her while I cannot. Go and find Synnove." Keys tilted his head to the side, much like Synnove did when she was confused and wagged his tail. James grunted and continued to stroke the dog until he felt a shadow cross over his body. As James looked up he saw Synnove standing over him, one hand on her hip, the other dangling by her side and her eyebrow raised in silent question.

"I thought that you said that beasts have no intelligence?" Synnove asked. "Yet you seem to be talking to Keys like he is a person," she smirked at him knowing how much what she had said would annoy James.

He glared at Synnove and rose back to his full height, now towering over her. He kept the serious look on his face but Synnove was not fooled.

She stepped forward and threw her arms around James' waist, "you do not scare me Mr. Norrington." She stretched up on the tip of her toes and tilted her head back so that she was closer to him.

James kept the serious look on his face and bent his head closer to Synnove's, "I think you should be afraid," he said in an almost whisper to her. "You are a defenceless small woman on a ship full of pirates."

Synnove wriggled closer to James and smiled. "Oh I could never be afraid when my strong handsome future husband is around, just you wait! He will come and rescue me soon," Synnove said. She attempted to imitate James' accent, but it only caused James to let out an uncharacteristically loud laugh. It was a laugh which he quickly stifled as if it was not something that he was allowed to do.

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"Because he is standing right in front me now," Synnove said. She stretched up further on the tips of her toes and stole a kiss from his unsuspecting lips. James smirked and clamped his arms tightly to her body on either side, forcing her to stay in one place.

"I shall let you go this time," he whispered against her lips. "But next time I will not be so merciful."

"Why thank you!" she said between giggles.

"However, there is a price for my mercy," he said.

Synnove attempted to look distress but it came out as a large smile instead, she simply could not help herself when James was around. "Oh please be gentle with me, I am only a small defenceless woman just like you pointed out earlier."

"All I ask of you is a kiss," James said.

"I could never do that to the man that I love!" she said in fake outrage.

"Just kiss me Synnove," James said. He stopped playing his little game with Synnove and bent closer to her. She closed the gap between them gently pressing her lips to his. James' arms relaxed their grip around Synnove's waist, but still held her tightly. Their lips moved together in a slow open mouthed kiss, James tongue swirling against Synnove's in a slow dance. Her hands fisted into his shirt at the back and he could feel Synnove's lips curling into a smile. Reluctantly the pair drifted apart and Synnove rested her head on his chest, her fingers trailing over his heart.

"I actually came over to tell you something," Synnove said.

"And what would that something be?" he asked.

"I need to take your bandages off; Mr. Gibbs suggested that it would make the healing process go faster."

"Do you trust what he suggests?" James asked sceptically.

"He has no reason to deceive us, he does not know about our circumstances," Synnove explained.

James grunted, "pirates always have a reason to deceive."

"I know that you are correct my darling. But I want you to heal faster and if there is a chance that doing this will help then I would like it if we were to do it," Synnove explained. She turned her best pleading eyes to James' and saw his resolve crumble.

"As you wish my love," James said with a sigh. He stepped back from Synnove and took her much smaller hand in his own. James lead them both down further stairs and back to their room, Keys trotted along behind his masters.

Synnove entered the room shortly after James and she quickly shut the door behind her. Her hands reached up to the top button of his shirt and slowly she began to undo it, button by button. A blush crept over her face as her hands trailed lower, though she could not see much skin due to the extensive network of bandages covering his body. Once his shirt was discarded she undid the pin at the side which was holding his bandages in place. He raised his arms up above his head so that they were out of Synnove's way. He bit the inside of his cheek to stifle any sound which threatened to escape as Synnove's fingers brushed against his bare skin. Her fingers were soft but cold as they skimmed over his chest and then made their way down to his stomach. James could feel something within him stirring, as it did each time she undressed him like that. He fought urgently to put his mind onto something else, but it was impossible with Synnove's gentle fingers.

"Are you alright my darling?" she asked. "You are being awfully quiet."

"I am fine," he replied. Not trusting his voice to remain normal as she continued to move her fingers across his bare skin.

Synnove discarded the bandages onto the floor, though James had not yet noticed. She trailed her fingers over his heart, following the outline of his scar and still James had not noticed. Synnove smiled and leant forwards placing a kiss over the scar. The skin which had grown to cover his wound was a light pink colour and the edges of the scar were puckered where the skin had healed badly. He hated to look at it, but as it was a part of him, he had no choice.

"How does it not disgust you to look at my scar?" he asked her.

"Because it is a part of you," she explained simply. "It brought you to me. I know how it makes you feel when you look at it and I know that you hate it. But I do not." She placed another kiss on the badly healed mess that was his scar and ran her fingers around the edges. "Nothing about you could ever disgust me, absolutely nothing."

James smiled and pushed a stray lock of hair back behind Synnove's ear, "thank you my love." He kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms.

"There is nothing to thank me for," she replied.

A knock on the door startled the pair, but Synnove refused to move from her comfortable place in James' arms.

"What do you want!" she shouted. She was becoming annoyed at the constant interruptions she received when she was with James. It was almost as if the Captain's knew that she was happy and decided to ruin it.

"Norrington is needed on deck!" an equally loud voice shouted on the opposite side of the door.

Synnove scowled, "he will be there soon!" she shouted.

James was smirking down at Synnove, holding in laughter at her apparent frustration. "I will be back as soon as possible my love, please do not fret."

"I was comfortable," she said with a pout.

James cupped her chin, forcing her face upwards, his softly kissed her lips before pulling away from her grip. "Will you help me with my shirt?" he asked.

Synnove nodded and picked the discarded garment up off of the floor. She held it out as he stuffed his arms through the sleeves then she did all of the button back up. "Alright," she sighed. "The sooner that you leave, the sooner you will return."

"Of course," he replied. "Make yourself comfortable while I am gone."

"I will try!" she said dramatically earning another smile from the man she loved. "Be careful darling."

"I shall," he said as he stepped through the door and shut it behind him.

Most, almost all of the men on deck were without their shirts owing to the extremely hot weather that had settled over the ship that morning. The pirates had expected the weather to get much colder the closer they came to Sweden, but they did not realise that with extreme cold comes extreme heat. They were all surely suffering for their lack of foresight now.

Synnove cast her eyes about the deck, looking for James. She had no particular reason to look for him as nothing was wrong, she just felt like going to find him. In truth she was still feeling upset from the earlier days revelations and she wanted nothing more than from James to pull her close and tell her that everything would be alright. Even if he lied to her, that was all that she wanted.

Her eyes locked onto James' form, and instantly widened. It appeared that James had joined the majority of the crew in discarding his shirt, leaving his back exposed to her wandering eyes. Once Synnove caught sight of James in his current state and she could not tear her eyes away, no matter how hard she tried, though she admitted that she was not trying very hard. Her eyes trailed along his back; his skin was covered in thick scabs and while it still sickened Synnove to see how hurt he had been, she was happy that everything was healing nicely. She chewed her lip between her teeth as she continued to watch him from a distance, Synnove stood in the doorway where she could see everything that James was doing, but he was not afforded the same view of her. As his arms moved up and down tugging on the ropes the muscles in his back rippled hypnotically. His arms were large with muscular, his shirt and heavy coat did a very good job of hiding just how muscular he really was. Synnove continued to watch James from a distance, drifting off into her own world just watching him.

"Synnove!" Antanasia exclaimed from behind her.

Synnove jumped and whirled around to face Antanasia, "yes?" She tried to keep her expression neutral and not give away what she had been looking at. Though she blushed bright red at the thought of being caught doing something she felt she should not.

"Why are you sneaking glances at Mr. Norrington with his shirt off? I am sure that if you asked he would let you stare all you want," she said. Antanasia smiled innocently as Synnove's eyes widened in shock.

"Antanasia!" she scolded. "That is highly inappropriate!"

"He gave you that ring and asked you to be his wife did he not?" she pointed out.

Synnove nodded and smiled proudly in response, "yes he did."

"Well then, you will have to see him naked sooner or later." Antanasia shrugged as if what she said was nothing important. "Especially if you want to have children, and if I know you as well as I think that I do, I know that you will most definitely want children."

A deep red blush coloured Synnove's face, "I suppose that you are correct. You speak as if you are much older than you are dear Antanasia."

"I know, perhaps that was my problem as well," she admitted with a deep sigh. "But at least you will have children with a good and honourable man Synnove. He is a man that loves you and will marry you and give you children that are not bastards."

Synnove moved closer to Antanasia and wrapped her arms around the small girls neck, pulling her into an embrace. Antanasia sniffled and threw her arms around Synnove's waist, nestling herself into the older woman's protective hold.

"I am sorry Synnove, I do not mean to cry on you like this, my emotions are all over the place at the moment."

"It is alright Antanasia sweetheart," Synnove said. "Let it all out if that is what you want. I do not mind, we all have moments when all we need is to be held close."

"Thank you Synnove," the small girl whispered. Her sniffing grew into soft sobs and then progressed into full fledged wails over the course of a few short moments.

James heard the sniffling and cries of a distressed female and, thinking that it was Synnove, whirled around to see what the problem was. A smile flickered over his face when he saw that Synnove was alright, but that changed when he saw that little Antanasia was in Synnove's arms. James raised an eyebrow and mouthed "what is wrong?" to Synnove.

"Upset," Synnove explained simply by mouthing the words to James. He nodded and turned back around to finish whatever it was that he had been ordered to do.

Synnove clutched Antanasia tighter to her body and rubbed the small girls back. She shifted gently from side to side, rocking Antanasia in an attempt to calm her down. Slowly Synnove's strategy appeared to work and Antanasia wiggled herself out of Synnove's arms and wiped her tears away on her sleeve.

Her sadness was gone as quickly as it had appeared and she smiled broadly up at Synnove. "You will make a brilliant Mother one day Synnove," she said. "I think that I enjoy your hugs more than Yulia's, she is rather bony you know."

"Thank you Antanasia," Synnove replied. "I am sure that you too will make a great Mother. Your child will be proud to have one as brave as you as it's Mother."

Antanasia smiled and gave Synnove another quick squeezing hug, "I hope that you will be there to see it."

"I promise you that I will," Synnove said. She rubbed her hand over the bump in Antanasia's stomach, but her hand shot away when she felt the stomach ripple.

"Did you feel that?" Antanasia asked and chewing her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Yes!" Synnove replied.

"It has happened before Synnove," Antanasia said. Her voice was filled with worry, "what is happening to me?"

Synnove smiled, "do not be worried Antanasia, it is just the baby moving about. I assure you that nothing is wrong."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure," Synnove said. She smiled "I know that it must feel strange, but it is nothing to lose sleep over."

Antanasia let out a sigh of relief, "thank you Synnove!"

"There is no reason to thank me either," Synnove replied. "Now may I suggest that you return back below deck and get some rest? Carrying a baby at your age must be very tiring."

Antanasia pouted, but nodded in agreement, "he does get heavy after a while," she said. Her pout turned into a smirk as she said, "I know you want to get back to watching Mr. Norrington in peace." Antanasia winked at Synnove and turned on her heel, walking slowly back down the stairs to her room.

"I do not!" Synnove called out childishly to Antanasia's retreating form.

"You do not what Synnove?" James asked. He was standing directly behind her, much closer than he had been before. Synnove, as James predicted jumped at the proximity of his voice.

"N-nothing James," she said, hoping that he had not overheard anything that Antanasia had been saying. Synnove abruptly changed the subject, "how many times do I have to tell you not to frighten me like that!"

James smirked at Synnove and stepped forwards, closer to her. He smirked as he watched her eyes straying over his exposed chest. "You have told me not to do it many times, yet I cannot help myself."

"You can be a cruel man James Norrington," Synnove said pouting.

"Maybe one day you will learn to not be so jumpy," James countered. "You know that you do not have to be on your guard around me."

"I know that! You know that I have a tendency to drift of sometimes and when you appear behind me like that it scares me," Synnove explained.

"I am sorry sunshine," he said absently. He had been toying with the idea of giving Synnove a nickname for a while now. James refused to call Synnove his fiancé due to the word being French and he could not simply call her 'love' all of the time because Sparrow called everyone woman he met by that name. James needed to call Synnove something that stated what she meant to him and yet was not so mushy as to make his stomach churn each time he said it. He settled on calling Synnove sunshine because that was what she was to him, Synnove was his sunshine.

Synnove's eyes widened as she looked up at James, "what did you call me?" she asked. There was a look of shock and quite possibly something more on her soft features.

"Sunshine," he repeated. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, not really," she replied. "That is what my Mother used to call me." Synnove smiled up at James, but he found traces of sadness in her forever shifting eyes. "Well, not in English, but it means the same thing. My name means sun gift, though with my dark hair colour I think Mother named me that to be funny. She always had a strange sense of humour."

"Do you not want me to call you that any longer?"

Synnove smiled up at James, "I do not mind," she said.

"Obviously you do mind, I saw how it startled you."

"I like being called sunshine," she explained. "It only startled me because no one but Mother has ever called me sunshine."

"If you are sure that you do not mind it," James began before he was cut off by Synnove.

She placed her finger on his lips to silence him and said, "I do not mind in the slightest." She quickly rose up on the tips of her toes and replaced her finger with her soft lips. "I will be your sunshine if that is what you desire."

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**Please leave me a review so that I know that you are still reading Serendipity. After all, if no one is reading then there is not much point in updating every week . . . **


	57. Follow You

James had woken much earlier than Synnove, while the sky was still dark overhead. He lay on his side, his arm tightly wrapped around Synnove's waist and pulling her tightly against his body. His face was nuzzled into her neck and one of his legs was between hers. Her shirt had raised up due to Synnove's shuffling in her sleep, leaving part of her stomach exposed. James felt guilty for looking at her pale skin whilst she was asleep but he could not help himself. Synnove whimpered in her sleep, her hand searching out for James. He slipped his fingers between hers and smiled as she instantly settled down. Her hand held in his dropped down rested against her bare stomach, James' rough hands resting against where she placed them.

"Are you having a nightmare darling?" James whispered to her quietly, not wanting to wake her up.

Synnove wriggled closer to James, evidently still asleep with a contented smile on her face. James kissed her neck and settled back down beside her. He knew that he would have to leave the bed and resume his duties on board the _Black_ _Pearl_, but for now he would savour every waking moment he had with Synnove. James lay next to her silently, watching as her chest rose and fell as she slept.

As the sun finally rose further into the sky Synnove began to stir again. She rolled from her back to her side, her hand dropped James' and instead made its way around his waist. Synnove's small body pressed against James' much larger frame. She held onto him so tightly as if she thought that if she let him go, he would disappear.

Her lips were a breath away from his and James found that he could not fight the urge to kiss them for very long. He closed the distance between them, softly kissing Synnove. She smiled in her sleep and let out a happy sigh as she shifted closer to James. He raised his hand from her waist to tangle into her hair. He absentmindedly played with the long strands of dark hair that framed her face. He caressed her cheek gently with his fingertips and kissed her soft pink lips.

"Mhmm, hello darling," Synnove said sleepily. Her eyelids fluttered as she fought to keep them open.

"Good morning my love," he replied. James leant forwards and stole another kiss from Synnove's lips.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. She rolled slightly away from James and stretched, feeling the bones in her back cracking. Synnove smiled at James before rolling back into his arms and nestling herself against his chest.

"I feel fine," he replied placing his lips to Synnove's forehead.

"I meant how does your back feel?" she asked. "May I have a quick look at it to see how well it is healing?"

James removed himself from Synnove's grip and pulled his shirt over his head. He threw the piece of clothing down the bottom of the bed, landing on Keys in the process, not that the still sleeping dog seemed to mind. He lay back down next to Synnove, turning on his stomach so that she could see his back properly. She rested on one arm; the other draped itself over James' waist. Synnove was so close that James could feel her breath on his back softly caressing his skin with each inhale and exhale.

"The largest mark you had is healing very nicely," she said. Synnove trailed her finger gently down the skin next to the wound. James shivered at the touch, no one had ever been so gentle with him as Synnove was always with him. It was a feeling that would take a long time for him to get used to. "The other larger ones are almost completely gone and the shallower cuts have disappeared. Mr. Gibbs was correct; letting them breath has helped the healing process along."

"Perhaps the man does have some use after all," James grunted.

"Oh darling, must I always remind you to play nicely." She placed a kiss on James' shoulder.

James grunted again in reply. He shivered again as she ghosted her fingers up and down his bare back, her soft fingers made parts of him stir. Her lips moved from his shoulder to his back, pressing delicately against abused flesh. James forced his eyes closed so that he could savour every little touch Synnove gave him. Her hand rubbed the small of his back, forcing a relaxed groan from James's throat. He was getting to the point where he could not take much more of Synnove's gentle torture.

In a flash of movement James rolled onto his back and brought Synnove with him. She squealed at the unexpected movement, laughing as James pulled her to his bare chest. One of her legs was laying between his and her head rested comfortably on his chest. Both of James' arms were wrapped around Synnove, holding her in place pressed tightly up against his body.

"Shall I take that as meaning that you feel fine?" Synnove asked.

"Yes my sunshine, I feel fine," he replied.

"I have to speak to Barbossa today," she mumbled.

"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked.

Synnove sighed, "No thank you darling. This is something that I have to do myself." She drew patterns on James' chest with the tip of her finger, thinking through what she would say to the fearsome pirate Captain. Synnove knew that she would have to be firm in order to get her point across and she had to be smart as well. From what she had learnt of Barbossa so far, she knew that he was fiercely intelligent and cunning. One neglectful word and she could be agreeing to something that was nothing like what she had originally wanted.

They lay together in a comfortable silence, Synnove listening to the beat of James' heart beneath her head and James' fingers twirling through her hair. James could barely remember a time when he had been so content to simply lay in bed. Before he met Synnove he always awoke before the sun had risen properly and made his way to the Fort at Port Royal. The only other people he encountered at such an hour were the guards still on night duty, but by then they were so tired that they were not the best conversationalists. Work had been his only companion during those early morning hours and all of the hours which followed. He was always the first to arrive and always the last to leave. At least when he was at the Fort he had a purpose, when he returned to his large empty home, he felt just as empty. For so long James had existed by being so utterly alone. He would do anything to fill the silence of his lonesome hours. In Tortuga he had replaced his duties with alcohol, drowning the mocking voices in his head which taunted him. The same voices reminded him of the fact that he was a failure at everything he had ever tried. He had lost love, which had never truly been his in the first place and then he had lost his title, his pride and his dignity. The rum bottles he soaked himself in helped quell the voices, but once the alcoholic haze wore away reality slapped him in the face. That was why he practically had the bottle glued to his hand whilst in Tortuga, he needed to escape. James fought back the bitter emotion of self hatred, he had Synnove now. But there may come a day when she would leave, they always do. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loved him. But nothing could ever silence those nagging thoughts of doubt that surfaced in the dark of the night. Whenever there was the slightest possibility, James would always have doubts.

Synnove had been looking up at James the entire time, studying his face as emotions flickered across it. She did not know what he was thinking about, but whatever it was, he seemed sad, hopelessly sad. Synnove did not like it one bit. She pulled herself upwards, her face hovering over James'.

"Whatever you are thinking about my darling, I want you to stop," she said. Synnove ducked her head down and placed a gentle kiss to his lips. Slowly James' eyes came back into focus and locked onto Synnove's. He did not say a word, simply continued to stare at her. It was almost as if James thought that she was a figment of his imagination. Synnove leant down and kissed James again, "come back to me darling," she whispered.

James tossed his head, shaking away the haunting thoughts, his blank stare turned into a smile. James' arms shot up, around Synnove's shoulders and flipped them both so that she was laying beneath him. Synnove wanted desperately to ask James what he had been thinking about, but she did not want to risk dragging him back there. Sometimes late at night, when he did not think that Synnove was watching, she could see the pain in his eyes.

"Are you alright now?" Synnove asked. Her hands cupped James' face with her thumbs rubbing back and forth over his skin.

"Yes my sunshine, I am alright now," he replied. He reprimanded himself internally for allowing his darkest thoughts to cloud his mind, he also reprimanded himself for upsetting Synnove, yet again. Would he ever learn?

"Good," she replied, though not completely convinced of his sincerity. "Now give me a kiss and I will let you go back to sleep."

James' lips descended down onto Synnove's pressing a hungry kiss on her soft lips. Her hands moved up and tangled into his hair while James' hand made it way to her waist, his hands rubbing up and down her side. James poured his love into the kiss, clinging tightly to Synnove. His tongue trailed slowly over her bottom lip until she parted her lips and let him enter. Their tongues swirled and danced together, James quickly asserting his dominance over Synnove. After several long minutes of kissing James pulled back, leaving quick open mouthed kisses as he backed away.

"I fear that it is time for me to get up," James said.

Synnove sighed dramatically but she did not release her grip on James. She pretended as if she had not heard a word that he said and nestled closer into his arms.

James tapped her shoulder gently, "I know that you heard me," he said.

"If you wish to get up, then that is fine with me," Synnove replied. She smirked up and James, "but you will have to do so with me attached because I most certainly do not intend to let go of you."

"And why would that be?" James asked smiling down at Synnove.

"I am nice and comfortable right here and I do not want you to go just yet," she said. She pouted at James with her best pleading eyes focused on him, "you would not be so un-gentlemanly as to force me out of bed now would you?"

He said nothing in reply, simply smiled at Synnove in what could only be described as a mischievous manner. Keys selected that same moment to wake up and pounce, throwing whatever plans James had made to the wind. The dog pushed himself between James and Synnove, turning his head and giving James the biggest doggie kiss he could muster. James made a retching sound in response as Synnove giggled uncontrollably beneath the pair. She reached up and ruffled Keys' fur, rising slightly from the bed and kissing the dogs cheek. Keys wagged happily, slapping James up the face with his enthusiastic tail.

"Good morning Keys!" Synnove exclaimed. This only encouraged the dog to wag more and butt his head against Synnove's gently. His most prized possession jingling with the force of his wagging body. Synnove saw the growing unimpressed look on James' face, and she silently ordered Keys off of her and to lay down beside her. If it were possible, James was even less impressed with the fact that Synnove could easily command the dog into action whilst Keys paid his commands very little attention. James took the moment while Synnove was distracted with Keys to begin slipping out of bed, but quickly found that she was not as distracted as he thought. She turned on her side and latched onto James, "leaving so soon are you my darling?"

"I fear that I must," he said with a sigh. "The last thing I want is for one of the pirates to come looking for me."

Synnove let out a defeated sigh, "I suppose that I had better let you go then," she said reluctantly. She let go of James, allowing him to depart from the bed and stand beside it. He stretched his arms above his head, bending from side to side, Synnove bit her lip as she studied his impressive form. He truly was a sight to behold, she thought as she continued to watch him, James smirked all-knowingly at Synnove as he locked eyes with her. A dark red blush crept over her face, but she did not cease her staring. He held his hand out to Synnove and helped her raise from the bed.

Synnove stood up behind James, wrapping her arms around his bare waist. She kissed his back as she squeezed him tightly to her body. Reluctantly she let go of him and picked his shirt up off the floor where it had fallen. Synnove held out the shirt to him, letting James slip easily into it. She then rounded on him, her fingers slowly buttoning his shirt. James smiled down at Synnove, this was a routine that he could easily get used to. Her hands trailed down his chest and stomach, smoothing his shirt out as she went. Once again James found it hard to keep control over himself, Synnove's gentle hands would be the death of him one day.

"Try not to get yourself into too much trouble this morning my darling!" Synnove said with a brilliant smile.

"I can only promise to do my best," James replied.

"That is all I ask of you," she said. "Play nicely."

"I am sure that I will be better able to do so, if you give me something that I need first," James said. He had a strange look on his handsome face, one which Synnove could not guess at.

"You know that I would give you anything that you wanted," Synnove said. "Name your price my darling."

He did not say a word, simply pointed to his lips.

Synnove giggled at him, she stood on the tips of her toes, her arms making their way around his neck to pull him closer. James' own arms clamped around Synnove's waist, trapping her in the only place she ever wanted to be. He ducked slightly so that Synnove could stand normally. James trailed his hands up and down her waist, tickling Synnove as he went, she laughed, unable to stop herself. His lips crashed roughly down on Synnove's cutting her laughter short and replacing it with possessive kisses. After what seemed like hours of slow demanding kisses, the pair broke apart.

"If you do not leave now James, I do not think that you will ever make it to the deck."

James grunted against Synnove's lips, he knew that she was correct, but that did not mean he wanted to do as she said.

"I do not know when the pirates will be finished with me, be safe whilst I am gone."

"Of course I will darling."

"Do you still have your knife?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Synnove pointed to James' tattered Admiral's coat which lay neatly on the floor, "it is in the right pocket."

"Good," he said simply. He bent, stealing another kiss from Synnove's lips before dragging himself away from her. "Goodbye for now my love," he said.

Synnove waved to his retreating form, "goodbye darling!"

Hours later Synnove stood on the deck looking out at the ocean, Keys sat at her side, staring at nothing in particular, simply fulfilling his orders and protecting Synnove.

"Time be running out for you lassie," Captain Barbossa said as he came to a stop next to Synnove. He had a wicked smile adorning his face as he saw Synnove's mood change.

Her happy mood instantly disappeared, replaced by anger and an endless feeling of desperation. "I am aware of the Captain," she said with a sigh. "I do not know if it has escaped your notice Captain Barbossa, but Antanasia is pregnant. While it is not my place to say how it happened, it is my place to defend her," Synnove said firmly. "If you so choose to be rid of my companions and I, then I must insist that you keep Yulia and Antanasia on board with you until you can put them ashore safely on an island inhabited by hospitable people. Antanasia is innocent and vulnerable, their Mother was murdered in front of them by Stefan and their Father and younger brother hung from the gallows during the war upon piracy. She has seen so much pain and suffering in her young life, I do not wish for her to see more. While I know that you are a pirate, I also know that you posses the ability to have mercy. I beg you to have mercy upon Antanasia and her older sister. This entire mess is my fault and I am the only one who deserves to be punished for it."

Captain Barbossa smirked wickedly at Synnove which sent a chill down her spine, but she refused to back down. "Ye mean to pretend yourself me master. Barbossa's hand darted out to clasp around Synnove's neck, his long fingernails digging into her skin. "Ye could easily be snapped in twain little girl," he said with a sneer.

"I do not pretend to be anyone's master Captain," Synnove said. Her voice was strained due to the considerable pressure Barbossa was placing on it. "I only wish to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable of my companions."

Captain Barbossa relaxed his grip on Synnove's throat, dropping his hand back down to his side. He could see the dark red mark that he had left upon her skin before Synnove's own hand moved to clasp over her throat. "I be in the business of pirating, not charity dearest Grevinna," he said mockingly.

"I am not asking you for charity Captain, I am asking for mercy."

Grunting Barbossa turned his back to Synnove and looked out over the ocean. "I shan't be putting the little lass on a deserted island. Her sister may stay with her," he added. "But that does not mean that I have decided what to do with the rest of ye."

Synnove reached out a hand to Barbossa, but then thought better of it. "Thank you Captain Barbossa, thank you for your mercy."

"Be gone from my sight now before I change me mind," he ordered.

Silently Synnove curtsied to the Captain and backed away. She had not expected to make so much progress with the overbearing Captain and as a result wore a large smile on her face. Captain Sparrow caught sight of this peculiar occurrence, for the life of him, he could never remember anyone, especially a woman looking so happy after speaking with Barbossa.

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Thank you very much to my 6 wonderful reviews Norrieo, CrissYami, Sniper650m, UpToNoGood12, Smilindolfin & amethyst3232. Without you, this part would not have been posted!


	58. Little Angel

Barbossa stalked down to the Captain's quarters and over to the large wooden desk sitting in the very centre of the room. His eyes darted around the room, checking to see if Sparrow was hiding somewhere in the room. One could never be too careful where Sparrow was concerned. Jack the monkey jumped down from the rafters and landed on Barbossa's shoulder chattering away to him and bobbing up and down to get Barbossa's attention. Captain Barbossa petted the monkey before holding his hand out to the animal in a silent request. Jack seemed to understand perfectly, reaching into a pouch on his clothing and bringing out a small golden key. Barbossa took the key from the monkey; his eyes surveyed the room once again before he unlocked the top drawer of the large wooden desk.

Cautiously Captain Barbossa rummaged around in the top drawer, searching for a certain piece of parchment that could lead him to treasure of unknown value. This same piece of parchment would also guarantee Synnove, the former Admiral and their companions safe passage to Sweden, if the girl could read and interpret the map correctly. Many had failed to translate the map under Barbossa's orders and as a result lost their lives, but perhaps this time things would be different, after all, the map had belonged to Antonetta and if anyone could figure out what it said Synnove was the most likely candidate.

"This map," Captain Barbossa said shoving it towards Synnove. "Can ye read it?"

Synnove squinted at the tiny writing on the thin piece of parchment she held in her hands. As she recognised the words written onto the page, her eyes widened, "where on earth did you get this?" she asked in disbelief.

"Antonetta paid this for safe passage on me ship," Barbossa explained. "I take it that means ye can understand it."

"Yes Captain, I can read this."

"Funny, the last Swede we had aboard couldn't make out a single word," he said. He eyed Synnove suspiciously.

"Because it is not written in Swedish," Synnove countered.

"Then what language be it that ye understand so well?"

"Mother never told me the name of the language," she said dismissively. "She told me that it was to be our secret. I am not even sure if it a real language or if Mother made it up, she was brilliantly creative."

"Aye, Antonetta was brilliant," Captain Sparrow said butting his way into the conversation.

Synnove scowled at him, "I do not appreciate the way in which you said that."

Sparrow flashed Synnove his most charming smile and said nothing to defend his words. Synnove's scowl slowly disappeared, having fallen victim to Jack Sparrow's most welcoming smile.

Captain Barbossa rolled his eyes, biting his tongue for the moment lest Jack run off with something he needed. "Ye will lead us to the treasure as a replacement payment fer yer safe passage home."

"Oh thank you Captain Barbossa," Synnove said smiling at the fearsome pirate.

"It was partly my idea," Sparrow said interrupting once again. "You should really be thanking me love. I know several ways in which you can." Jack Sparrow bounced his eyebrows at Synnove and placed an arm around her shoulder. Again Barbossa rolled his eyes at the younger man's actions.

Synnove stepped away from Captain Sparrow and pushed his arm off of her quickly as if it were causing her pain. "The only man who is allowed to touch me is James," she said firmly. "While you may be able to charm any other woman who comes your way Captain Sparrow, I am not such a woman."

Across the deck Sparrow saw Norrington's head raise up, he had been listening in on Synnove's every word unbeknownst to her. As his eyes turned to Captain Barbossa he caught the large smirk on the older man's features and pouted at the fact that no one had any sympathy for him.

"Well?" Barbossa prompted gruffly.

"This map does not give precise directions per say," Synnove answered shakily.

"What does that mean," Barbossa stepped closer to Synnove, towering over her and intimidating her further.

"The map gives you the name of the place that you are looking for," she elaborated. Synnove pointed to the place on the map that apparently held treasure. "However, it does not have latitude or longitude lines, as I am sure that you are already aware."

Barbossa grunted, the girl was more knowledgeable about maps than he had expected. "What kind of treasure does this map be leading us to?" he asked.

"Viking treasure, apparently from a sunken longboat," Synnove said as she continued to squint at the map."

"But it does not say where the said Viking gold is?" Sparrow interrupted, pushing himself back into the conversation.

Synnove shook her head sadly, "I am sorry, it simply shows the shape of the island near where the longboat sank."

"Give it to her Sparrow," Captain Barbossa ordered.

"Give me what?" Synnove asked.

Sparrow clutched tightly onto his compass, reluctant to give it to Synnove. A fierce glare from Barbossa saw him quickly pass the object into Synnove's waiting hands. "When you use it try your best not to think of old Norrington over there, it will mess everything up," Captain Sparrow explained.

"James is not old," Synnove said automatically, not waiting for Captain Sparrow to make any further comments on the matter. "Mess what up? Synnove asked. Her head was tilted to the side in confusion as she stared at the large black boxed compass in her hands. "What does it do?"

Captain Sparrow smiled all-knowingly at Synnove. "This compass is special," he said as if it explained everything Synnove wanted to know. Upon seeing the still confused look on her face the Captain decided to elaborate. "It can direct you to whatever it is your heart truly desires. What you desire most right now is to find the island mentioned in Antonetta's map."

Synnove's eyes widened as she looked at the compass. Everything was riding on her concentration, if the Captain's had not been watching her, she would have gulped. Concentration had never really been her forte. She closed her eyes and focused on the mental image of her Mother's map. Quickly she opened the compass, hoping that it would be pointing in the correct direction.

Captain Sparrow peered over Synnove's shoulder, watching as the compass spun around before settling in one particular direction. Captain Barbossa looked over her other shoulder. Their eyes darted in the direction of the compass point, both letting out a frustrated sigh when they located the object the needle was fixed upon. Hearing the Captains' apparent distress, Synnove looked up and saw that the needle was pointing to James. A large smiled erupted across Synnove's face as she locked eyes with him.

"I told you not to focus on him love," Sparrow whispered in her ear.

"I tried my best," she said with a shrug. "It is hardly my fault that all my heart wants is him."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day Captain Barbossa rolled his eyes. Women were always so impossible to work with and so was Sparrow for that matter. Mixing the two of them into one mission and it became almost unbearable. The only thing that made Barbossa feel remotely better was the promise of profit, and perhaps leaving Sparrow behind in Sweden with the rest of them.

"Mr. Norrington, we'll be needing your assistance over here," Barbossa said.

James' eyes moved from Synnove's to the pirates standing on either side of her, he did not like the situation one bit. Keys sat at Synnove's feet his body leaning heavily back against her. If she was to move the dog would surely fall over backwards, but Synnove would never be that mean, even in jest. Keys' tail wagged as he watched James, he shifted from side to side but the dog did not leave from his protective position. With Sparrow's constant attentions on his future wife James felt even more uneasy. It was most certainly not because he did not trust Synnove, it was because he would never trust the pirate around anyone he cared for. Wandering hands and wandering eyes would be the death of Jack Sparrow, it may even be at James' hands if the man would not leave his Synnove alone. James' softened considerably as his eyes returned to Synnove's smiling lips and eyes. He dropped what he was doing and stalked over to the group. He tried his best to glare at the pirate Captains and smile at Synnove at the same time, but upon finding it impossible he turned to glaring at the pirates instead. Synnove's smile however did not waver; she kept her eyes trained on James.

"Is something wrong Captain?" he asked addressing only Barbossa. He came to a stop standing before Synnove, his hands clasped behind his back. As he looked down he saw that the needle of the compass was pointing directly at him.

"Aye, ye be in the way of the compass," Captain Barbossa replied.

Captain Sparrow smiled wickedly at Norrington. "Hold Synnie's hand or something, it should calm the compass down" he suggested.

James scowled at Sparrow's pet name for Synnove. He held his hand out to Synnove tentatively. She quickly threaded her fingers through his, squeezing tightly. All eyes were once again locked onto the compass Synnove held in her other hand. The needle point still had not moved, it remained locked onto James. Captain Barbossa let out an aggravated sigh.

"I am trying my best, I promised!" Synnove exclaimed.

James dropped Synnove's hand, pushing between her and Sparrow. As he moved so did the point of the compass. For a heart-stopping moment Synnove thought that James was mad with her, but as he stepped up behind her she knew otherwise. His arms made their way around Synnove's waist; he pulled her backwards, if somewhat roughly, so that her back rested against his chest. Synnove relaxed into him, her body no longer so rigidly straight. James then placed his chin on Synnove's shoulder, watching as the needle of the compass finally moved away from him, if somewhat reluctantly.

"It's moving! It's moving!" Synnove cried happily.

He fought to keep a smile off of his face and remain intimidating towards the pirates. However, they were both too preoccupied with the movements of the compass to pay James any mind. Discretely he nuzzled his face into her neck and no longer had to hide his smile. The compass had proven so effortlessly that all that Synnove wanted was him. James placed a soft quick kiss just behind Synnove's ear and smirked as he saw the point of the compass waver back in his direction.

The two pirate Captains memorised the heading of the compass, Captain Sparrow snatching it up from Synnove fingers quickly and darting away back to his cabin to begin charting the new course.

"Don't be going too far lassie, we may be needing ye again," Captain Barbossa said. He turned away from the pair and followed Captain Sparrow, albeit at a much slower pace. He did not want to seem too enthusiastic, lest Sparrow get more of an idea exactly how much treasure they hoped to find.

"What was that all about?" James asked Synnove.

"I spoke with Captain Barbossa earlier and begged him to let Yulia and Antanasia stay on board the ship even if he decided to set us ashore, to which he agreed."

"You managed to negotiate effectively with Captain Barbossa?" James asked.

"Yes," Synnove replied.

"You are far braver than most women," he said. "He did not threaten you did he?" James asked, instantly becoming defensive of Synnove. "Or lay a filthy finger upon you?

Synnove looked guiltily up at James. "He placed his hand around my neck and squeezed, but it was only a threat James. Captain Barbossa did not cause me any permanent harm."

James's harsh expression softened, he spun Synnove out of his arms. James' hands reached up to Synnove's neck, his fingertips brushed against the reddened skin softly. "I should have gone with you," he said sadly. "I am supposed to be your protector," he added the last bit almost silently, but Synnove heard every word.

"Shhh darling," she whispered back to him. "What's done is done. You do a brilliant job of protecting me so do not fret."

James grunted in an unimpressed fashion but did not say anything else. He studied Synnove's neck, noticing that Barbossa's fingernails had left deep half-moon imprints on her skin. There was slight evidence of bleeding and he knew that by tomorrow there would be bruising. "The next time that pirate lays a hand on you, I will destroy him," James whispered lowly.

Synnove shuddered at the intimidating tone of James' words, she had no doubts that James would do as he said. She smiled weakly up at him, "I am sure that is something we need not worry about my darling," she said. Her arms made their way up around his neck, pulling him closer and down to her height. Her weak smile grew stronger as she pressed her lips to James' softly, ghosting over his lips. "Are you free now?" she asked, each word forcing her lips to brush against his.

"Yes," he replied. His dark expression had disappeared as he raised his eyebrow at Synnove in a silent question.

"Good!" she exclaimed. "Now we can return to my training. I still have Gillette's sword so come along!" Synnove's hands dropped from James' neck to hold his hand instead. She dragged him along behind her, through the levels of the ship. James smiled at Synnove's back, he would forever be amazed at how easy it was to make her smile.

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**I realise this one is a little short (not to mention late). I have been having a little trouble getting from one to another with this story... I know where it is going - as the final chapter has been written, it is just the getting there that is proving difficult. **  
**The end of Serendipity is coming closer, but there will be a sequel!**


	59. Nightmare

James woke to the feeling of being utterly entangled with Synnove. Her head was on his chest and her arms wrapped around his waist tightly. He did not mind that it appeared she was using him as a pillow, in fact, he found that he quite enjoyed it. A year ago he would never have thought that such a thing would be possible, perhaps it had not been, in the life that he had been living. It took his death in order to find Synnove and it would take death to separate them, though James hoped that would not come until they were both well into their years. James shook his head and took in the ernest of his surroundings, once again awoken well before it would be sensible to rise for the day. James let out a sigh, he half hoped that his noise would wake Synnove so that he could have someone to talk to, but the other half wanted her to stay asleep.

The night before the ship had run into a storm, try as he might, James could not convince Synnove to stay below deck. She was determined to stand by his side and help out in any way that she could. Synnove would have made a brilliant naval officer, if she were a man. She followed orders to the letter, snapping to action as soon as James had barked an order to her. He had expected that Synnove would scold him for being so short with her in his orders, but she had simply smiled and done as he had asked. Though she was not physically strong enough to be of much assistance, she was as strong as a young boy starting out on a vessel and equally as knowledgeable, so James put her to work as such.  
James took in Synnove's appearance As she lay cuddled up to him. The cut on her forehead was healing nicely, though if she had listened to him in the first place she would not have been injured. He had been sick with worry when the stray piece of wood collided with her head, but Synnove had just smiled up at him with blood trickling down her face. Synnove had told him not to worry so much, a phrase she must surely be tired of having to repeat, but one that she would always have to speak. He brushed her long black hair away from her face so that he could see her properly. She would develop a bruise around the cut on her forehead, but it was nothing too serious for either of them to worry about. He decided that he would look for some clean bandages to wrap around the wound in a few hours when it would be more civilized to be awake.

Normally by now Synnove would have at least stirred, but she remained in a deep sleep, her chest barely rising and falling. James lay there in the darkness, thinking of the future he and Synnove would have once they were safely away from the pirates. He wanted to make Synnove his wife as soon as they set foot on land, but he knew that would not be good enough for her. Synnove deserved to be married in a new dress of the most elegant design during a lavish affair with dancing and fine food but at this time James could give her none of that. He could not even give her food that was not stolen in some manner or other. Surely as a Countess she had attended to many weddings, and as a result she would have high expectations. James shook his head, Synnove would ask for no more than he could give, she had even suggested letting Barbossa marry them because she wanted desperately to call him her husband, Synnove wanted to be Mrs. Norrington. He had smiled like a village idiot after she had said that, a smile that did not fade for hours afterwards. He could hardly walk around the pirate ship with such a smile on his face. James knew Synnove was sincere with her proposition to marry on the Black Pearl, but she had accepted his reluctance with a smile. Synnove knew what he wanted and nothing else mattered to her as long as they married one day. She had of course pouted and pretended to be dreadfully upset, but he had kissed her frown away and she had no longer protested. James smiled, thinking of all the things they would do once they were free of their pirate companions and on solid ground again. If they intended to stay in Sweden then Synnove would need to teach him to speak the language and then he would need to find a job so that he could support the family he dreamt of having with Synnove. James sighed, he would figure all of that out later, for now he just wanted to lay next to Synnove. His eyes drifted closed once again as he fell into a deep slumber to match Synnove's.

Hours later he was awoken by a heavy hit to the stomach by none other than Keys. The dog looked worried, if it were possible for a dog to look worried. His head hung low and his tail did not wag. His paw raised again to abuse James but the look of James' face quickly deterred the dog. Instead Keys nudged James' hand with his nose and then looked to Synnove, trying to tell James something. James looked down at Synnove and noticed that she still had not moved since he was last awake. Her breathing was shallower than before and her normally pale skin was almost white in colour.  
"Synnove," James called thinking she would wake after hearing his voice. Still Synnove did not stir. He wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped Synnove onto her back as gently as possible beneath him. "Synnove please wake up," this time he shook her gently. He did not want to hurt her, but her lack of response had him gravely worried. Keys began to whine next to him, a high pitched and mournful sound. The dog batted at Synnove's arm with a gentle paw, his movements much softer with her than they had been with James. James pulled himself upright out of bed, leaning down over Synnove, he placed his head to her chest. He listened for her heartbeat but found that it was beating so slowly it was almost not beating at all. Next her placed the back of his hand to Synnove's forehead to feel for a fever, but she had none. Her eyes fluttered beneath her eyelids as if she were dreaming and she began to twitch, but nothing could drag her out of her slumber. James grew frantic, the situation sending him into a panic. He placed a hand on either side of her face and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, "Synnove please wake up for me my love. I need you by my side sunshine."  
Tears began to leak from Synnove's tightly closed eyes and trail down her cheeks, but she did not move nor make a sound. James began to feel his own eyes prickling with tears that he fought to keep inside. Something was drastically wrong with Synnove. He knew that she had been having nightmares ever since they returned to the world of the living, but she had told him that it only happened when he was absent. From what he had seen, she had not been lying about that, she had no reason to lie about it either. Synnove had told him that it felt like someone was trying to kill her in her dreams and James was overcome by the feeling that the same person was close to succeeding. He needed to do something, but he had no idea how to save her. His fingers ran down her cheeks, brushing her tears away as soon as they fell. "Wake up, please wake up," James whispered repeatedly go her unmoving body. Synnove's only response was a pained sounding whimper and further twitches.  
James saw a shadow pass beneath the door and threw it open to intercept whomever it was on the other side. Even if they were one of the many pirates, they may be of some use.  
"Gillette!" he yelled upon finding a familiar face.  
"Yes sir," Gillette replied out of habit. He stopped himself before a salute automatically snapped forth.  
"Find me Mr. Gibbs," he ordered. "Something is wrong with Synnove. She will not wake up no matter what I try."  
"Right away," Gillette replied.

Gillette wasted no time, running up the stairs and seeking out the acting doctor. He pulled Mr. Gibbs away from his position leaning against the rail with an unopened bottle in one hand whilst the other searched for something to open it with. Gillette said nothing to the pirate instead he grabbed the man's free arm and dragged him along behind him through the levels of the ship until they reached James and Synnove's room. Mr. Gibbs shouted and protested all the way, but Gillette ignored him and none of the other pirates thought to do anything to save their comrade. Gillette threw the door open and pushed Mr. Gibbs inside before shutting the door firmly behind him and resting against it acting as a barrier between the pirate and the exit.  
"What be the meaning of this Mr. Norrington?" Mr. Gibbs demanded with a rough tone.  
James had moved to sitting next to Synnove on the edge of the bed. One of his hands held tightly onto hers while the other brushed over her cheek, chasing her still falling tears away. "I cannot wake Synnove. Nothing that I have tried has worked," he explained.  
"She took a nasty knock to the head last night, could she have been concussed afterwards?" Gillette offered.  
"No Gillette," James answered. "If I had thought that Synnove may have had a concussion last night I most certainly would not have allowed her to fall asleep. She was fine last night, no slurred speech and no difficulty with her balance either."  
Mr. Gibbs frowned, feeling worried for the young woman who lay unmoving on the bed in front of him. He stepped forward and placed the back of his hand to her head, feeling no sign of a fever. Next he placed his fingers to her neck looking for a pulse, he smiled when he found one but Synnove's heartbeat was weak, worryingly so. "The only injury that Synnove has is the cut to her forehead," Mr. Gibbs stated.  
James felt his anger grow uncontrollably, "I already know that," he spat.  
Mr. Gibbs' eyes widened at James' harsh tones, but he said nothing to tell the younger man where he could go with his attitude. "She appears to simply be sleeping. There is no fever and she is still breathing," he said. "Perhaps she needed some rest after strenuous activity?" Mr. Gibbs moved his eyebrows in a suggestive manner hoping that his former commander would understand his subtle hints. "After all, some women could be very fragile when it came to the aftermath of … certain activities."  
Gillette hid his smirk behind his hand as James felt his face go red. "Synnove and I are not yet married Mr. Gibbs. Despite the fact that we do indeed share a room and a bed, I would never tarnish her reputation in such a way," he said.  
Mr. Gibbs nodded, "it be only a suggestion lad. As I said before, she has no fever so it can be neither sickness nor infection." in all honesty Mr. Gibbs had expect that Norrington had slept with the small woman he shared a bed with, learning the opposite was the truth surprised him. Mr. Gibbs shook his head, such a thing should not really surprise him, he had never met a man with stricter self imposed rules than Norrington.  
"You are telling me things that I already know again Mr. Gibbs," again James felt his anger rising within his chest. He lifted Synnove's arm and showed Mr. Gibbs how it dropped like a dead weight when he let it go. "There are many things that a person can sleep through, but she should have awoken by now."  
"Yellin' bout it won't help her any either. Give her few more hours and then come back and try again lad, there really is nothing for it," Gibbs concluded rather unhelpfully. "I know it isn't what you want to hear lad, but if there are no symptoms then there is nothing that any of us can do."  
"There is nothing that I can do?" James asked, his anger being replaced by utter despair. He should have known that something bad would happen soon, in his experience it always did.  
"I am afraid not lad," Mr. Gibbs said with a sigh.  
Gillette moved forward and placed his hand on James' shoulder, "stay with here with Miss Synnove. I will take over your duties above board."  
"Thank you Gillette," James replied. He hung his head to hide the tears that began to slip down his cheek. He cleared his throat and fought to keep the waver out of his voice, "Thank you Mr. Gibbs."  
"I'm sorry that I could not be of more help lad," Mr. Gibbs said.  
James remained silent in reply, his back to them until they shuffled from the room.

Pulling himself back onto the bed James sat on one side of Synnove whilst Keys sat on the other. James gently maneuvered Synnove's upper body onto his, her head resting on his lap while Keys used her stomach as a pillow. He stroked his fingers through her long black tresses as he allowed his mind to wander to things that he would be better off not thinking about. Synnove was the most important person in his life, he was a fool not to realize it sooner. He was even more of a fool to push her away, those wasted days when he had avoided her. He should have spent every minute of every day with Synnove, but now she would not wake up and there was nothing that he could do apart from sit by her side and pray to whatever god was listening that she would be alright. He would give up anything and everything for Synnove. James no longer fought to keep his tears contained, there was no point in hiding his heart-wrenching pain. One by one his tears dripped down his cheeks and landed on Synnove's unmoving form. Her pale cheeks were wet with the mixture of their tears.

* * *

**Hello all! I am sorry that this part is so short ... but university had been interfering with everything at the moment.  
Most importantly - I AM GOING TO SWEDEN IN AUGUST TO LIVE FOR 6 MONTHS WHILE I STUDY AT UPPSALA UNIVERSITY! Capslock was probably not necessary for that statement, but I just could not help myself.  
I will do my best to have another chapter out soon, but I do have two papers due on Friday (neither of which I have started yet). **

**- Keggy  
**


	60. Kiss My Lips And You Save Me

A strange voice Synnove had never heard before whispered to her, "_He does not love you; you know that I speak the truth."_ The voice whispered in her ear over and over again. "_You must realise that when he questioned your love for him, he was really questioning his own love for you. His words were begging for you to set him free of his burden, but you were too stubborn, too selfish to understand. He does not love you. He lied to you, you know what I say is the truth."_ The same voice whispered, repeating the malicious words. Synnove tried to simply ignore the voice, but each time it grew louder and all the more convincing. She stuck her fingers in her ears, but the voice continued on, inside of her head. It never stopped whispering to her. It seemed like hours had passed and the voice had not given up its onslaught. Synnove dropped to the ground, covering her ears as small tears began to make tracks down her pale face.  
"Stop please, just stop saying those things! None of them are true. James does love me, he really does," she whimpered.  
_"When has he ever shown you this love?_" the voice replied.  
"He has always protected me, I never asked for his kindness," Synnove protested.  
_"He is a military man, you were a damsel in distress. It is inevitable that he would come to your aid."_  
"James could have left me in Tortuga!" she argued. "He could have gone about creating a new life for himself, but instead he came to my aid and promised to keep me safe. James has ever gone back on his word, he loves me!"  
"_A man of his ilk would not have left you alone in a place such as Tortuga, deep down inside you know that. Love has nothing to do with duty, self imposed or otherwise."_  
"I am to be his wife, he would not have proposed if his feelings were not true!" Synnove said. She knew that James loved her, but the relentless words of the voice calling to her were beginning to take its toll on her sanity. James does love me, she repeated to herself, hoping to drown out any other thoughts.  
_"That does not that mean that your marriage will be a love match. He has kissed you yes?"_  
"Yes," Synnove answered.  
_"Has he laid his hands on you? Wandering hands that touch your bare skin?" the voice questioned._  
Synnove could hear the ill intent in the woman's voice. "Yes," she said. "But I let him do it!"  
_"Perhaps he only lusts for you, you cannot honestly believe that it is love you see in his eyes, it is pity. The sooner you come to my understanding of this, the easier it will be to let go."_  
"Let go of what?" Synnove whimpered.  
"_Your life,_" the voice replied.  
"I will never give up my life," Synnove protested. She was no longer afraid of the voice that taunted her, she wanted to destroy it, to silence it forever.  
"_You say that now, but time will change that."_  
"My mind will never change!" Synnove roared. "James loves me and I love him!"

Suddenly the darkness around her disappeared as she felt lips press against hers. Synnove's eyes shot open to discover James leaning over her, as he held her body tightly to his. James' green eyes wet with tears.  
"James!" she gasped. Synnove launched herself up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him close enough and burying her face in his neck. Her fingernails dug into his back through his thin shirt and she clung to him as if she would die if she were to let go. Her body trembled and she sobbed into his neck.

"My love are you alright?" James asked. He rubbed a hand up and down her back soothingly whilst the other held Synnove tightly to his body around her waist.  
"I-I think so," she stuttered. Her hands pulled away from around his neck and instead cupped James' face. She searched his eyes looking for any evidence that he may be a dream.  
"What do you need? Would you like some water or something to eat?" James asked.  
Synnove's eyes widened, "do not leave me!" she cried throwing her arms back around his neck and pulling him back to her body once again.  
"Do not worry," he said. "I am not going anywhere my sunshine." James used his arms around her waist to pull Synnove into his lap. He held onto her crushingly tightly, but Synnove did not say anything in protest. James rocked Synnove back and forth, trying to sooth her sobbing and calm her down so that he could ask her what was wrong. Keys shuffled around, having been jostled when Synnove threw herself at James. His tail thudded quickly against the bed as he placed his head on her lap, looking up at her with his large brown eyes. She sniffled and removed one hand from around James' neck and ran her fingers through Keys' fur, smiling weakly at her canine companion. Gradually Synnove began to calm down and her death-grip on James relaxed, but she refused to let him go.  
James moved one of his hands up from Synnove's face and used it to brush her long hair away from her eyes. He caressed her cheek with his fingertips and kissed her forehead, "how are you feeling now Synnove?" he asked.  
"I feel much better now thank you my darling," she replied mumbling into his neck.  
"Good," he replied somewhat gruffly. "You have no idea how worried you had me. I thought that you would never wake up again."  
"What do you mean?" she asked. Synnove removed her face from his neck and instead rested her head on his shoulder.  
"I mean that I have been trying since little after dawn to awaken you, but nothing could shake you from you slumber. I had Gillette bring Mr. Gibbs down here to have a look at you, but there was nothing he could do," James explained. "I feared that I had lost you forever to your nightmares."  
Synnove shuddered, "I did not know that I was asleep for so long," she said. "There was a woman, she was saying terrible things."  
"What did the woman look like? What was she saying to you?" James asked desperate to know whom or what had been plaguing his Synnove. He would hunt down and kill whoever was causing Synnove such harm; she deserved nothing less than to be safe always.  
"It was pitch black all around me so I never saw the woman, only heard her voice," Synnove said. She was reluctant to tell James what the woman had been saying and she did not particularly feel like repeating those hate filled words. However, the look on James' face told her that she had little option otherwise. "The woman was trying to convince me that you did not love me. She kept saying that you only pitied me and that was why you stayed by my side," Synnove paused as her voice cracked. "She kept saying those same things over and over and there was nothing I could do to make her stop. I tried clamping my hands over my ears, but it was as if her voice was inside of my very mind."  
James looked down at Synnove with shock and anger etched onto his features.  
"I never believed a word that she said James," Synnove added firmly. "I know that what is true and what is a vicious lie. A voice in the darkness knows nothing of the truth."  
James nodded in response, when his doubt ate away at him, Synnove was always there with words and open arms to remind him otherwise. "I know," he said with a whisper. James's head bent closer to Synnove's, their foreheads pressing together. His bloodshot eyes were closed as he reigned his emotions back in. There was no more reason to cry, she was back, awake and alive in his arms. James knew that Synnove had seen his tears, she had seen him in a moment of weakness, but she said nothing about the tears on her cheek that were to her own. Synnove knew him well enough to know the last thing he wanted to talk about was his weakness, though he knew she would not see it as such. Synnove would never think of James as weak, even if he cried every day for the rest of their lives, he would be nothing less in her eyes. James was startled from his thoughts by a gentle hand cupping his chin. Synnove closed the gap between them, pressing her soft lips to his. The kiss they shared was slow and gentle, his lips brushing against hers so lightly they were barely touching. Synnove could not help but think that James was treating her as if she were made of glass and decided to rectify it. Her hands moved to tangle in his hair and pull him closer, their gentle kiss turning desperate. James' tongue grazed Synnove's bottom lip, Synnove giggled at the tickling sensation that it created and she felt James smile into their kiss.  
He pulled back from Synnove and raised an eyebrow at her, "and why, might I ask, are you laughing while I am kissing you?" James asked.  
"You were tickling me," she said with the most innocent of smiles playing on her lips, as if her explanation would fix everything. It did. James crashed his lips down against hers in a show of dominance. His hand squeezed her waist and Synnove's fingers trailed down from his hair to run along his rough bearded cheek. Synnove pushed her lips back against James' revelling in the feeling of being held to tightly in his arms.

Synnove broke away from James slowly and turned her head into his chest. She placed a hand over her mouth as she coughed lightly at first, but her coughing became more violent as it continued. James rubbed circles into her back gently, hoping to somehow relieve her coughing fit. Her fingers fisted into the fabric of his shirt, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. As quickly as her coughing had begun, it disappeared, but she did not release her tight grip on James' shirt. Her normally pale face was flushed bright red and her chest rose and fell rapidly as Synnove fought to catch her breath again.

James' fingers cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Are you alright?" he asked; distress an obvious factor in soft spoken voice.

She smiled up at James, "you must get tired of asking the same question over and over my darling," she replied.

"Never," he replied. He rubbed his hand in a circle across her back and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Never," James repeated.  
Keys nudged his nose against Synnove's hand as it had stopped running through his fur. Synnove smiled down at the dog and scratched her fingernails behind his ear. His head leant heavily to the side into Synnove's cupped hand. "I missed you too my loyal hound," she spoke softly to the dog.

"You need some fresh air," James said. He had been studying Synnove as she stroked Keys, her eyelids drooping with each passing second. Her head bowed forward in the beginning of sleep before quickly shooting up again as she shook herself awake. "Come with me for a quick walk around the deck, the fresh salt air will do you a lot of good."  
"I do not think that I am strong enough to stand properly just yet," Synnove admitted. "For some reason I feel as if I have been awake all night with no rest."  
"I know my love," James said. He had watched as Synnove struggled to keep her eyes open with lessening success by the minute. "But I do not want you to fall asleep again just yet."  
"I do not want to fall asleep either James," Synnove said with a slight whimper. "I do not want the voice to return."  
James clasped his fingers around the necklace that Synnove had given him, "perhaps you should take this back. It is you who needs its protection."  
Synnove smiled widely at James, the colour returning to her cheeks more. "I am afraid that it does not work like that my darling. Once the Tar Om Hav had been passed on, it cannot be passed back," she explained. Synnove placed her hand over James' heart, right where she knew his scar was, "it protects you now."  
"How do you know for certain that it cannot be passed back?" James questioned.  
"I tried to pass it back to my Mother the night she was murdered. She told me that it could only protect one person at a time and once I passed it on to the one I most wanted to protect, I could never take it back. She said therefore that I must give it to someone I had unwavering love for, as she had unwavering love for me."  
James remained silent, caressing Synnove's cheek with his fingertips instead until finally he spoke again, "so I could not pass it on to you?" he asked. "Although my love for you does not and will never waver?"  
"I am afraid so my darling, you must pass it on to one of our children."  
"Then how am I to protect you from the things that I cannot see or hear?"  
"I do not know," Synnove admitted. "But I do know you and I know that you will find a way."  
James sighed, "sometimes I think that you have too much faith in me."  
Synnove smiled again at James, "never," she said. "I have just the right amount of faith in you."  
James frowned, but Synnove missed it. "How about we go for that walk now?"  
"If we must," she said with a joking sigh, but she did not move from her position sitting on James' lap.  
"Synnove my love?" James called.  
"Yes."  
"You will need to move first," he whispered into Synnove's ear.  
"I fear that I am far too comfortable to move," Synnove said. Her dark mood had been completely chased away, almost as if she had forgotten the cruel voice which held her captive as she slept. However, Synnove had not forgotten about the voice, she simply pushed it to the back of her mind thinking that there was no sense in dwelling on something she could not change or influence. She was safe with James and she would not let anything ruin her precious time with him. "And if you are looking to blame me for being comfortable then you are sadly mistaken."  
"Is that so?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"Yes, it is your fault because you are such a comfortable seat and pillow."  
James sighed, "well I suppose there is only one thing for it then," he said. A smirk appeared on his face which only grew as Synnove raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Only one thing for what?" she asked cautiously.

James quickly moved one arm from around Synnove's waist down to tuck under her knees. He leant he backwards slightly, making sure that her arms were still tightly and securely around his neck. In one swift movement he stood up with Synnove held in his arms the way in which one would carry their bride over the threshold.  
"Put me down! Put me down!" Synnove cried. She wriggled slightly in James' arms completely unused to being lifted in such a manner.  
"Now why would I want to do that?"  
"I am far too heavy for you to be lifting like this," Synnove protested.  
"Nonsense, you are not in the least bit heavy," James replied. "If you would stop squirming however, it would make things much easier. Are you afraid that I will drop you?"  
"No, I know that you will not drop me," Synnove said. "I just do not want you to injure yourself."  
"I will not injure myself," James replied. "You refused to get up, so I got up for the both of us."  
Synnove smiled as she loosened her grip around James' neck so that it no longer appeared as if she were holding onto him for her life. "You truly are a stubborn man," she said with a mock roll of her eyes.  
James grunted and said "you are the one who refused to get up."  
Synnove mumbled something under her breath about James being the stubborn one, but he pretended not to hear her. "Tell me my darling, are you intending to carry me all the way outside and then around the deck?" she asked.  
James faltered for a moment, he had not thought that far ahead of what he was going to do with the small woman in his arms.  
As if she had read his mind Synnove said, "you have not thought that far ahead yet have you?"  
James grunted in a reluctant reply, but said nothing to confirm or deny her supposition.  
Synnove's fingers grazed across his cheek, forcing James to look down at her. "You can set me down now my darling. Once I am up I will not sit back down," she said with a smile. "That and if you are standing up I will have no one to sit on," Synnove added.  
"You are too weak at the moment Synnove, you can barely keep your eyes open and your head upright. I will carry you for a turn about the deck," he said sternly. The look on his face said that there was no possible way that he would change his mind.  
Synnove could not help but smile proudly at his utterly absurd suggestion, "I am perfectly capable of walking on my own. But," she said with a pause, "if it would make you feel better you can wrap your strong, muscular, arm around my waist and, should I fall, you will be there to catch me."  
"Your words of flattery will not get you out of everything," James said with a grunt.  
"I do not know what you are talking about my darling," Synnove replied. She batted her long black eyelashes at him, acting for the entire world, the part of the damsel in distress.  
"You know full well what I am talking about young Miss Nordenburg," James said.  
Synnove raised her eyebrow at James, "I would prefer to be called future Mrs. Norrington." She smiled happily at just the thought of being married, "and I am not all that young if you recall."  
James smirked at her, "yes my sunshine, you are older than me."  
Her eyes widened in disbelief, "surely not!"  
"Surely so," James replied.  
"I am glad you are holding onto me so tightly James."  
"Why?"  
"Because I may just have fainted at that revelation," she said dramatically.  
James could not help but laugh at the display Synnove was putting on as she fretted over his revelation.

"I have finally found a second reason to be thankful to the Locker," Synnove said. "You never would have married a woman that was older than you."

"That is not necessarily the case," James said stubbornly, though he suspected that she was largely correct in her assumption. "Had we met I would not hesitate to say that you would have captured my intrigue."

Synnove smiled, "as would you my dear Admiral," she said. Before James could correct her she spoke again, "now back to the topic at hand my love, set me down and we will go for a walk around the deck," Synnove said.

Reluctantly James set Synnove down, his hands at her waist to ensure that she was standing steadily. Synnove looked up at him through hooded eyelids as he stood in front of her. James inspected her in every detail, checking that her breathing was not laboured or her legs shaking. He was satisfied that Synnove seemed to be alright, he held his arms out to as a test and slowly she made her way across the room to him. Her legs felt as if they had not been used in months. Synnove faltered for the briefest of moments and James darted forwards, his arm snaking around her waist and tightening. Keys bounced off the bed and landed with a thump on the floor, wagging his tail in a happy rhythm next to Synnove. She slipped her own arm around his waist and leant heavily into him, her head resting against his shoulder.

"We best get moving before you fall asleep on me again," James said.

With those words he walked with Synnove up the stairs to the deck. Her legs gave out several times as they ventured up the stairs, but James' grip was tight and she never fell to the floor. James made no sound each time her weight unexpectedly crashed down on him, though Synnove knew he could not possibly be comfortable. As they stood in the relative darkness of the final step, James lowered his lips to her forehead and kissed her gently.

"You will be fine," he whispered.

"Only when you are there,'" Synnove whispered back in reply.

Despite how happy James was at that moment, he could not help but feel as if this was the calm before the storm. He shuddered at the thought and pulled Synnove closer to him, come whatever may, he would be ready.

* * *

**I am so sorry it is taking me such a long time to get this done!  
Things have just been so busy - I have never been to a different country before so I have been stabbing around in the dark with my planning for Sweden in August. **

**After this Serendipity only has 4 more chapters and an epilogue. **  
**I have the ending already written, but I am curious to know what anyone thinks will happen - feel free to tell me what you predict!**


	61. Another Night

For the second night n a row the ship was assaulted by the strong winds and freezing cold rain of the North Sea. The closer they got to Synnove's homeland, the worse the weather became, but James knew as long as the pirates had the smell of gold, they would risk anything. The rain fell so heavily

heavily that it was difficult for James to see more than an inch in front of his face. James attended to the ropes, tightening them as he had been ordered. In a matter of seconds James had been soaked through to the bone and he struggled to keep himself upright and steady. The deck beneath his feet was groaning under the pressure of the high torrents of water.

This time it did not take much effort to convince Synnove to stay safe below deck, for that James was thankful. Synnove had put forth her obligatory protests, but she was too tired to put up much of a fight. James found extra blankets and all but rolled Synnove up in them. He had put her in bed, staying until he was sure that she was comfortable and warm. Keys lay beneath some of the layers of blankets, curling himself into a little ball and snuggling up to Synnove. James had leant forwards and placed a quick chaste kiss to her soft lips, intending to leave in the same moment, but Synnove's fingers had found their way to his shirt and pulled him back down by his collar. He had always been taught that a woman who initiated a kiss was a wanton woman and little better than a common whore. But every time he felt Synnove steal a kiss from his lips, he knew that what he had been taught was utterly wrong. To know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her was a feeling that he could not compare anything to. His lips pressed back against Synnove's keeping their kiss gentle.

She smiled as she pulled away from him slowly, "be careful out there." Synnove moved her hands from his collar to rest on either side of his face as she spoke. "Watch out for stray pieces of wood," she said with a slight giggle.

"I will do my best," James replied. He turned his cheek into the palm of her hand kissed it. "You know that I am the careful one."

Synnove turned her head to the side as if she were contemplating the truth in his words, "I am just as careful as you are, however, I am far more accident prone than you."

"If you say so," James smiled. "Although I think not being accident prone is part of not being careful."

"Then we must agree to disagree," Synnove said before adding, "I did say that correctly yes?"

"Your English is perfect," he said. James leant forwards again and claimed Synnove's lips. "Never let yourself worry about that."

"I will not!" Synnove declared happily.

"Try to get some sleep my love," James said. His lips brushed against Synnove's with each word he spoke, "I know that it will be difficult with the ship moving like this, but you look exhausted."

"I shall try my best to get some sleep," she said. "As I said before my darling, be careful."

James kissed her forehead and broke away, turning and leaving Synnove sitting contently in bed. She would be there waiting for him until he returned. No other thought could make him happier.

James saw Synnove stumble up the stairs, Keys following behind her. His fur was sticking straight up in anger, Keys was snarling and snapping at something just in front of Synnove that he could not see. James wiped his hand over his face in an attempt to see what had Keys so riled up, but he could see nothing expect for Synnove's outstretched hand. She made her way quickly across the deck until she stood by the railing.

"Synnove!" James cried over the sounds of thunder crashing overhead. "Synnove come back here, it is too dangerous for you to be up here." James darted across the deck, his hand latched around Synnove's arm and dragged her backwards. He had to get her away from the edge and back down below where he knew that she would be safe. At that moment nothing was more important.

"Soren is here!" Synnove exclaimed. "He said he would take me home now, Father has been so worried about me," she explained. Her eyes were glazed over as if she were in a dream and she was speaking nonsense. James felt his stomach sink as he thought that the knock to her head had been more dangerous than he originally thought. He watched as Synnove turned her head from him and looked back to the empty space next to her. Synnove's hand was still outstretched and it appeared as if she were holding hands with someone, but James and Keys were the only ones there. She spoke to the empty space beside her, her words so quiet that he could hear nothing over the crash of thunder overhead.

In the same moment she turned her attention back to James and said, "I promise that I will not be gone long my darling. They have missed me so much, I cannot stay away from my family any longer."

"Synnove what are you talking about?" he demanded as a deep sense of panic kicked in. "Just please come back down below with me, I will have Mr. Gibbs have a look at you. My love you are not well/"

She gave James a blissful smile and said, "I am perfectly fine James."

As she spoke James felt his face contort with worry. "No Synnove you are not fine, please come back with me," he pleaded.

Again with the same glazed over eyes she smiled at him. Synnove raised up onto the tips of her toes and placed a soft kiss to his worried lips, "do not worry for me darling. I will be back soon. Soren promised that you may come next time."

She pulled her arm out of his grip using a strength that was most certainly not hers. In a flash she had managed to climb onto the railing, facing out over the ocean.

She spoke softly to the empty space next to her as a wave rose high above the ship. Threaded through the wave was a thick black net, the same nets which Synnove told him haunted her dreams. The look on Synnove's face was serene and calm, but James' was the opposite. His arms reached up to encircle her waist and he dragged her backwards. His arms held her so tightly that he was sure she would have difficulty breathing, but he would not let her go. He could never let her go.

"Darling please let me go, you heard Soren, I need to go now." She turned back to speak to the empty space next to her, saying something he could not understand. She then let James lift her down from the edge, his arms still holding a death-grip around her waist. She wriggled around in his arms and looked him square in the eyes. "Do not worry so much my James, I promise that I will be back soon!"

"You are not going anywhere!" James countered. "Please Synnove return back below deck and get some rest, you are not well." He knew that he was begging, but she would not see reason.

Synnove shook her head and moved both arms up to wrap around James' neck. She pulled him down to her height and kissed him twice, slowly. James went to deepen their kiss for a third time but she was wrenched from his grip. She was pulled from him with such force that there had to be something on the other end.

A flash of lightning overhead allowed James to see who Synnove was talking to. A small boy stood next to her on the railing, his eyes black and soulless and his skin bloated and grey tinged. The boy could not be the Soren that Synnove insisted on calling him. He looked directly in James' eyes and opened his mouth wide in a smile. His teeth were sharp and pointed resembling a shark more than a human and as he opened his mouth James could see the layers of teeth hidden behind those he had originally seen. The boy leant backwards into a net entangled wave, his arms holding Synnove tightly.

"Synnove no!" James cried. His hands reached out to grab onto her but he gripped only air instead.

The wave finally hit the ship, throwing it viciously to the side as well as tossing James to his knees. He scrambled to his feet just in time to see Synnove fall overboard

"SYNNOVE!" he yelled, but she had already disappeared into the black churning depths.

As quickly as the storm had began it was over, leaving the crew dazed and James crumpled on the deck. Gillette and Groves dashed over to James' side, both of them helping him to his feet.

"Quick we need to find a working lifeboat, Synnove has fallen overboard!" James commanded.

"She didn't fall overboard mate, that thing took her," Sparrow said pushing his way through his crew. Barbossa followed, he too having seen the creature.

"Then that is even more reason to launch our search!" James exclaimed.

"All the lifeboats be destroyed," Barbossa informed him.

"We have to find her," Gillette said before James' could form words.

"Surely there must be something which could be salvaged," Groves added. "You have carpenters aboard, make them earn their pay!"

"Take a look around Mr. Groves," Barbossa said. "There be nothing left."

What the Captain said was utterly true. There was nothing left.

"There must be something we can do!" James exclaimed.

"Even if we knew where she went," Sparrow began, "we don't know how to retrieve her mate." Sparrow placed a friendly hand on James' shoulder but James threw it off so quickly as if it had burned him.

"Or if she is even still alive," Gibbs said entering the conversation.

James glared at the man who had once served under him and sneered at his inconsiderate comment, ready to say something poisonous until Gillette stepped forwards.

Gillette's hand clasped James' shoulder and this time James did not throw the touch off. Groves also took a step forward before saying, "give us your orders."

"We will do everything to help you get Miss Synnove back," Gillette added. His glare turned to Mr. Gibbs, almost matching the force behind James'.

Gibbs threw his hands up in defeat, "I do not want 'er dead any more than you lot do. I just be pointing out the fact that these waters be freezing cold and deep, just because the sun be shining now, don't mean she is any better off."

Before Mr. Gibbs could say any more Sparrow manoeuvred himself between his subordinate and Norrington's men. "There aint anything that can be done mate," he said.

"I will not give up on Synnove so easily!" James exclaimed. "You are all so ready to pronounce her dead, but where is your proof!" His chest was hurting with a mixture of anger and deep sadness. The lifeboats had been destroyed in the harsh weather which meant that was not an option for launching a search. Swimming through the water and hoping to find her would be utter suicide. Throwing a line out into the ocean with the hope of catching Synnove in some way was an absurd proposition. With Barbossa clearly being the stronger Captain than Sparrow, he had little hope that the _Black Pearl_ would embark on a recovery mission, especially when Synnove had already given the coordinates of the treasure up. Every plausible method, and several ludicrous ones which circled through James' mind were impossible. There truly was nothing that he could do to bring Synnove back.

James felt an inescapable twinge of pain settle into his heart. He placed his hand over it, hoping the pain would pass, but it was obvious to him that this was not physical pain, this was something far worse. Synnove was gone and there was nothing that he could do about it. Gibbs was correct of course, those thick black ropes now held Synnove tightly dragging her downwards into the ocean. The first time he had seen those ropes Synnove had been saved by the power within her necklace, but now that it was around his neck, it could no longer save her. There was nothing that he could do, no way he could reach her to save her. She had slipped through his fingers like he always thought that she would, but he could never have imagined it happening in such a way. James raised his other hand to clutch at Synnove's necklace, the only thing of hers he had left in this world. He turned his back to the other men and squared his shaking shoulders. James cast his eyes over the now calm ocean, but he saw nothing in front of him. His eyes were clouded with tears that he knew would be just the beginning of many he would shed for Synnove. His grip on her necklace tightened, this could not be the end of their story, James would not allow it to end like this. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to hold back his tears, but a lone tear escaped him. James watched as it dropped onto Synnove's necklace, he needed to find Synnove, no matter what the cost may be.

Before his eyes the necklace began to glow with the same bright blue light he had encountered before. The light grew brighter until all upon the deck were forced to shield their eyes. A figure that was distinctly female stepped out of the light as it dimmed and she came to a stop in front of James. She was so close that he could see the whites of her dark eyes. James heard a murmur of alarm from those around him, but he ignored it. He did not know who this woman was, though clearly both Captains seemed familiar with her. He heard Sparrow whisper the woman's name but it meant nothing to him, all he knew was that she would lead him to Synnove. There could be no other reason for her appearance. James would have Synnove back with him again if it were the last thing he was to do.

* * *

**As it is my birthday today - I thought that I would update as a present to you all!  
I know this chapter is somewhat shorter than usual, but the next part will be up very soon to make up for it!**


	62. Back To Hell

Synnove's head ached as if someone had broken a glass bottle over it and she kept her eyes tightly closed to avoid the sunlight she knew would sear across her vision should she open them. She tried to move the dead weight of her arms, but no matter how hard she struggled and pulled she could not free herself. Reluctantly she forced her eyes open and was met with a shocking surprise. As she looked down she saw that her legs had been encircled with heavy metal chains as well as a thick band of metal secure around her stomach holding her in place and insuring that she could not move. As she tried to move her arms above her, she discovered that they too had been secured in place by chains which cut into her flesh causing her wrists and ankles to bleed. From what she could feel beneath her, Synnove came to the conclusion that she must be chained to a large granite slab in a laying down position. The sunlight that she had been expecting to see was not there, instead she was surrounded on all side by what appeared to be an ice palace. Directly across from where she was laying there was an elaborate throne carved into the ice, her captor however, was suspiciously absent. Synnove closed her eyes again, feeling so incredibly weak after the simple task of surveying her surroundings. Her head rested back on the cold slab beneath her and slowly she felt her consciousness drift away.

She woke again what felt like moments later, but she had no way of telling. Her memories came flooding back to her in a great torrent, the last thing she remembered was seeing her younger brother Soren appearing in her room. Keys had growled ferociously at him, snapping and snarling at a terrified Soren. Synnove had ignored the loyal dog's protests and taken Soren's hands letting him lead her to the top deck. She remembered that the wind had been lashing around them brining heavy torrents of rain. Rolling waves slammed into the ship, sending it rocking from side to side, but as long as she kept a tight hold of Soren's hand she managed to stay upright. Her brother had smiled, telling her how much everyone had missed her and how glad they were that he had found her. He told Synnove that he had been sent to get her because Father had been bed-ridden with sadness at the loss of Synnove and her other brothers wanted to stay at his side. Soren's words had made Synnove feel so guilty, a deep sadness still sank to the bottom of her heart. He had promised to take Synnove home, if only she would follow him. Synnove remembered passing James, his body drenched as he fought against the rolling of the ship to make his way to her.  
"Synnove!" he had yelled over the sound of thunder crashing overhead. "Synnove come back here, it is too dangerous for you to be up here." His hand latched onto Synnove's arm, trying to pull her away from the edge of the railing.  
"Soren is here! He said he would take me home now, Father has been so worried about me," she explained to James. She had turned around to Soren to ask if James and Keys could come too, but he had shaken his head, no.  
"Next time," Soren said, a happy smile across his pale face.  
Synnove turned back to James, "I promise that I will not be gone long my darling," she said. "They have missed me so much, I cannot stay away from my family any longer."  
"Synnove what are you talking about?" James demanded. "Just please come back down below with me, I will have Mr. Gibbs take a look at you. My love you are not well."  
"I am perfectly fine James," Synnove said smiling up at him. The rainwater plastered her hair to her face and her clothing stuck to her body, she should have been shivering with the cold, but Synnove remained unaffected.  
'No Synnove you are not fine, please come back with me," he pleaded. His face was awash with concern but his request fell on deaf ears.  
Synnove raised on the tips of her toes and she placed a kiss to his worried lips, "do not worry for me darling, I will be back soon. Soren promised that you may come next time!" Synnove pulled away from James using a strength that was most certainly not hers. She raised a leg and stepped up onto the railing, looking out over the sea.  
Soren turned back to Synnove, his face the picture of innocence, he tugged her hand and said, "Come on Nove! We need to hurry or Father will be upset!"  
"Alright Soren," Synnove agreed.  
A wave rose high above the ship, bringing with it a thick black net, but Synnove did not fear it as she had before. Soren would not lead her into danger, Synnove had been so sure of that.  
James however had not been so convinced, his arms had encircled around her waist and he attempted to pull her off the railing. He held so tightly to Synnove that she fought to take her next breath.  
"Darling please let me go, you heard Soren, I need to go now," she said calmly. Synnove then turned her attention to Soren, "I will follow you soon Soren."  
Synnove let James lift her down from the edge, his arms still holding her just as tightly. Soren remained standing on the railing, waiting for Synnove to return to his side.  
Synnove managed to turn around in his arms and look him dead in the eyes. "Do not worry so much my James, I promise that I will be back soon!"  
"You are not going anywhere," he said firmly. "Please Synnove return back below deck and get some rest, you are not well," this time James pleaded with Synnove, begging her to see reason.  
Synnove simply shook her head in response. Her arms raised to encircle James' neck and she smiled happily as she pulled him gently down and kissed his lips again. She smiled against his lips and pressed another slow kiss to them.  
Soren grew tired of their affection; his hand grasped around Synnove's upper arm tightly and wrenched her out of James' grip with a strength that he could not possibly possess. "Come now!" he demanded, "we do not have time for this."  
"Synnove no!" James cried, his hands reaching for her and catching only air instead.  
The large net entangled wave which had been making its way closer to the ship finally hit, throwing the ship viciously to the side. James scrambled to his feet just in time to see Synnove fall overboard, "SYNNOVE!" he yelled, but she had disappeared into the ocean.

As Synnove remember what had happened, her stomach sank, Soren had not been real. She had leapt overboard with a spectre, an illusion, a lie. She had no idea where she was, or where James was. A deep sadness settled into her bones, James would be so distressed at her loss, she had promised never to leave his side, but in a moment of insanity she had thrown that all away. Synnove did not know who was responsible for this, but she had a feeling it was Stefan's Master a person whom she would soon be meeting. Right now she wished she had never fallen for the fake Soren's tricks. She should have stayed with James. Tears began to stream down Synnove's cheeks as her body was wracked with sobs. She wanted James by her side to tell her that everything was going to be alright. Even if it was a lie, she needed James here with her.

"Crying is not going to get you anywhere," a female voice said. "In fact nothing is going to help you now."  
"Who is there?" Synnove cried out. She tried to move and get a better look at who was in the room with her, but she could see no one. Giving up her search after receiving only silence in response Synnove closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on finding a way out of her bleak situation. She had to be strong and smart like James is, she had to find a way to go back to him. When she had surveyed her surroundings earlier she found no holes in the ice walls around her. The chains which held her firmly in place would not budge no matter how hard she pulled on them. Synnove let out a sigh, "If someone is there I would really appreciate your help!" she called out. She hoped against all odds that the voice she heard had not been a product of her imagination.  
"I am sorry, but there is nothing much I can do for you," the same female voice replied.  
"Can you at least tell me where I am?"  
"There is no point in telling you that," the voice said. "Even if you knew where you are there is no way that you can escape."  
"I would still like to know," Synnove muttered.  
"You are in the ice palace of the Goddess Rán," the voice explained.  
Synnove felt a smile erupt across her face, "then everything will be alright!"  
The voice laughed, "what on earth gives you that impression?"  
"Rán is my ancestor she surely means to protect me from harm."  
"I fear you are gravely wrong."  
"Who are you? And why do you say that?"  
"My name is Sigridr, I am Rán's half mortal daughter, the only one," the voice explained. "Turn your head to the left and if your eyes are ready to see, then see me you will."  
Synnove closed her eyes, calming herself down to the best of her ability given the current situation and turned her head to the left as Sigridr had requested. Trapped inside the wall of ice was the outline of a woman. The woman had black hair the same colour as Synnove's as well as the same colour eyes however, unlike Synnove she had a large scar through her left eye. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, but it was impossible to tell her true age. Sigridr looked so much like Synnove that there was no doubt in her mind that this woman could be any other than related to her. Sigridr moved closer to Synnove, floating around in the ice as if she were swimming. Sigridr smiled warmly at Synnove, a smile which automatically reminded Synnove of her Mother. "My name is Synnove Nordenburg," she said thinking it rude not to introduce herself, even if she was chained in place.  
"Hello Synnove," Sigridr replied. "I am sorry that we had to meet under such circumstances," the smile on her lips fell as she studied Synnove's predicament.  
"I see now why you said that there was nothing you could do to help me," Synnove said with a dejected sigh. "Who imprisoned you in the ice? And why do you not trust Rán to help me?"  
"The answer to your first question will be the answer of the second," Sigridr said. The trapped spirit took a deep breath before speaking finally. "Rán is the one who imprisoned me within the walls of her ice palace and she is the one who dragged you from the arms of your lover and chained you here."  
"How did you know about him?" Synnove asked, instantly fear washed over her.  
"There is a brilliant gold string tied around your heart, though you can see me, you cannot see the thread. The other end of that thread joins with your lovers heart, be he dead or alive, the string will always be with you," Sigridr explained. "Now child, will you let me finish my tale, or would you like to interrupt again?"  
"I am sorry," Synnove said, trying her best to look sincere. "I just do not want my James dragged down here to suffer with me, I fear for him."  
"As you should. But do not fret, Rán lost her ability to see love-lines thousands of years before I born. Your lover is in no danger from her," Sigridr said.  
"But in my dream -" Synnove began protest before Sigridr cut her off.  
"She observers and infers meaning from that," Sigridr explained. "She has nothing to gain from capturing and killing your lover as he has use to her. She will not waste energy dragging him to the depths When she already has all she wants in you."  
Synnove let out a deep sigh of relief, "thank you for putting my heart at ease Sigridr," she said. "I will not interrupt you again, please continue your story."  
Sigridr nodded slowly before beginning to speak again. "As you are already aware, we share Rán's bloodline," Synnove nodded as best as she could and waited for Sigridr to continue. She could be happy in the knowledge that James would be safe. "Rán had nine daughters to her husband Ægir, but alas that was not enough for her. She used to love sitting beneath the waves and watching as sailors passed above her. More than once she came across a handsome sailor and pulled them into the depths with her thick black nets. She tried to make them hers, but mortals are so fragile. The poor sailors died drowning and being crushed by deep dark water. She did not lament the deaths of the sailors, nor did she spare a thought for those they left behind, she only lamented the loss of their beauty. Rán' is the cruellest of creatures," Sigridr explained. "I do not know how she succeeded, but once she managed to bring a living man down to her palace. She seduced the sailor, promising to return him to his family if he only gave her a child. Nine months later I was born, and the sailor was still imprisoned here. Rán' kept him chained in the corner, feeding him scraps. Despite being chained to the wall and knowing that I was a product of his imprisonment, he was a kind and gentle man. Father was patient with me, teaching me the things Rán' never bothered to worry about, which in truth was most things. I could not have asked for a more brilliant Father. However, I remember vividly one day when I was no older than ten, he did something to infuriate Rán. From that moment on she refused to feed him, choosing instead to let him rot away. I tried to sneak pieces of food to him, anything to help him stay alive, but she caught me." As Sigridr spoke she placed her hand over her scarred eye, "Rán gave me this scar and blinded me that day. Father begged her not to do it, but her mind was made up. She said that I needed to be punished and so I was. Rán then chained me to the very slab that you are now laying on and she forced me to watch as she murdered my Father."  
"I am so sorry," Synnove whispered to the half-Goddess who now had tears streaming down her face.  
"Thank you," Sigridr said. "As I grew older Rán attempted to mould me in her image, but I could never be so heartless. To her I was a failure and so she cast me out of her palace, thinking that I would drown due to being half mortal. She was wrong of course, but she seemed not too worried. Instead Rán turned her attention to capturing other sailors and this time having success in creating a child who would be just as ruthless as she. I survived long enough to make my way to the surface where I was spotted by a Swedish Naval ship. I was rescued by the man who would later become my beloved husband, Bjorn who was at that time the Captain of the vessel." More tears fell from Sigridr's eyes as she remembered her husband. "Oh he was a brilliant man, strong and yet deeply compassionate. Not to mention devilishly handsome, he had thick scruffy black hair and beard with the most amazing deep brown eyes. Bjorn was highly intelligent, more so than any man I have ever come across, yet he never made he feel like I was his lesser. I confided in him what I was and he never thought me to be insane, in fact he called me brilliant. We only had one child together before he was ripped away from me in the cruellest of methods. Our beautiful daughter Ulrika was so strong and smart like Bjorn, but she had my power and that meant she was in terrible danger. Whilst I had been away Rán had made enemies with the powerful Goddess Calypso who was in turn her own Mother. In a fierce battle Rán was weakened, becoming almost mortal as Calypso drained her power away. Calypso left Rán with enough energy to live as a human for the rest of her limited days," Sigridr paused to see that Synnove was still listening to her.  
"How was your husband taken from you?" Synnove asked. "Was it Rán? If you do not mind me asking of course."  
"I do not mind you asking child," Sigridr said. "You are correct, Rán was behind the death of my Bjorn. You see, my dear love Bjorn had been out at sea when his ship had sunk in a violent storm, a storm which Rán had created. She held Bjorn captive, telling me that I would never see him again unless I returned to her and gave up my power so that she could be strong and immortal once again. I know my Mother well enough to know that she would not keep her word and I was correct. Before I left my darling child Ulrika I crafted a necklace for her. I called it the Tar Om Hav and instilled it with the power to protect her from Rán. The necklace possessed enough power to hide Ulrika from Rán and keep her safe. I was careful to make sure no matter how hard Rán would search, she would never find my only daughter. I then gave Ulrika up to Bjorn's Mother to look after. Although Ulrika was eighteen years of age, she cried and wailed like she did when she was an infant. I did not tell her in so many words where I was going and what I was going to do, but Ulrika always had an amazing sense of what was happening. I then left and never returned," Sigridr said. "When I arrived back here to face Rán I found my Bjorn laying on the floor, slowly dying and I held him close until he passed. Even when he was dying he was still so kind and gentle, he never once blamed me for what had come to pass. After Bjorn passed, I am ashamed to say that I lost the will to live, I allowed Rán to chain me to that same slab and steal away my life force. I could have fought her off, if I still had strength within me, but Bjorn was my strength, my reason for being. Just before she finished draining me of all that I had Rán decided to punish me one final time. She imprisoned me within the ice, forcing me to stay here forever. I even watched my dear Ulrika appear here as a fully grown woman. The Tar Om Hav only protected her for as long as she wore it, as soon as she passed it to her own daughter Rán found her and dragged her to the depths. From that point on I watched as my granddaughters and their daughters pass through here, dying at Rán's hands. Only Antonetta escaped Rán's clutches."  
"Antonetta is my Mother!" Synnove exclaimed. "She may have escaped Rán, but she did not escape an early death."  
"I am sorry to hear that Synnove," Sigridr said solemnly. "It seems wherever Rán is associated death follows not too far behind."  
"So it would seem," Synnove replied. "Rán has brought me here in order to harvest what little power I have, surely she knows how weak I am?"  
"You are not as weak as you think, but yes, she intends to strip you of all that you have and leave you to die."  
Synnove sighed, "then there is nothing for it. I will never see James again, nor will I ever have his children like I promised him. I will die alone, without him, but worse – I know that he will search for me and he will never find me. By darling James will suffer from my mistakes. I will never forgive myself," Synnove said as tears tracked down her face. She would truly never see him again, it made her heart ache as if she had been run straight through with the sharpest blade.  
"Tell me of this man who has captured your heart," Sigridr said. "If your James is the last thing on your mind as you pass to the other side I am sure that your death will not be so painful."  
"You mean it will lessen my pain, not James'."  
"Yes child, there is nothing either of us can do for your dearest love."  
"I understand," Synnove said. "How can I describe him and still do him justice?" she questioned herself. "My James is brilliant beyond comparison, and quite frankly that is putting it mildly. He is amazingly skilled with a sword and so strong, physically and mentally. He has already suffered much pain because of me and now he is doomed to suffer even more," Synnove said pausing to shake away the tears from her eyes. "To most he appears to be nothing more than a stuffy ex-Admiral of the Royal British Navy who retained all of his protocol with none of the benefit, but to me he was never that. James protected me out of his own sense of duty, not because anyone told him to. In his arms is the safest place in the entire world to be and when he kisses me it feels like the world stops."  
"He is your husband?" Sigridr asked.  
"No, not yet," Synnove replied. "He has already asked me to be his wife and I of course accepted. It is just a matter of returning to Sweden and making everything official. James refuses to wed me on a pirate ship, he wants everything to be perfect for me. I have told him time and time again that I do not care where we marry, that all I care about is him, but James will not have a bar of it." Synnove smiled as she remembered suggesting to James that Captain Barbossa should marry them and the sight of James' jaw dropping almost to the floor. He then launched into a speech about how no wife of his would ever be married on a pirate ship. As well as the fact that he loves her too much to dishonour her in such a way. The argument, if one was to call it that ended with Synnove accepting James' words. She did not mind waiting to marry him as long as she could one day call herself Mrs. Norrington.  
"He sounds like a wonderful man," Sigridr said.  
"James truly is," Synnove said with pride. "There will never be another like him."

A loud slamming of doors jarred Synnove out of her daydream about James.  
"I must go now, Rán is returning and she must not find me speaking with you," Sigridr said quickly. Her face was awash with panic and fear, "remember, you are stronger than you think child. You have a reason to live, a man who loves you fiercely and hopes for the future. Synnove do not let Rán take everything from you without a fight."  
"Thank you Sigridr, I will not go down without a fight. I have someone waiting for me," Synnove said with a firm resolve.  
"Good girl," the half-mortal half-Goddess said as she disappeared.

A tall woman walked into the room, gliding delicately across the ice floor. Synnove took in the woman's appearance, so this was Rán, the woman who would kill her. Rán had long blonde hair stuck together in thick clumps that resembled seaweed more than anything else. As she moved, so did her hair, twirling and dancing as if it had a life of its own. Rán's skin was tinted blue and her lips were painted black and curled upwards into a vicious smile. She was beautiful despite her odd appearance, but her eyes were like that of a shark, utterly black and devoid of compassion.  
"Hello little one," Rán said in her sweetest voice. "Are you comfortable?"  
"I would be more comfortable if these chains did not bind me in place," Synnove replied mocking Rán with a sweet tone of her own.  
"You know that I cannot let you go little one, you will surely run away and we cannot have that now can we?"  
"Oh of course not," Synnove agreed, hatred dripping from each word.  
"I suppose my dear child Sigrid spoiled my fun and told you all about what was going to happen?"  
"She told me some things," Synnove said with a nod. "I was especially intrigued by the fact that you are going to steal my power for your own selfish gains."  
Rán clicked her tongue against her teeth, "Sigridr told you the best part, shame on her. However, there is more to this tale than even she knows. Would you like me to tell you little one, you can think of it as my final gift for you?"  
"I suspect that you will do as you please Rán, nothing I say will stop you."  
"Correct," the Goddess snapped. "You have a lot of nerve for someone about to lose everything."  
"If I am to lose everything then there is no sense in being polite," Synnove snapped back.  
The Goddess smirked, "I will enjoy this immensely, nothing is better than breaking a strong spirit."  
"You will never break me," Synnove said defiantly. She would never show this monster any weakness, never.  
"Be quiet now little one, I have had enough of you. Once I explain everything to you, you will see that your noble sacrifice is for a much greater good."  
"I will never believe that," Synnove spat. "You can weave whatever lies you want to make yourself seem like a merciful Goddess but every child of yours that you have killed will stand as a testament to the contrary!"  
"Oh but little one I truly am doing this for the greater good, you see the Fates read into the future, for a price of course," Rán said. "They told me that Calypso would be freed and thus return to her original form. They said that she would seek vengeance on those who imprisoned her, that she would come for my blood as she has done once before. As you know dear little one, she is my Mother and so her strength is greater than mine as your Mother was stronger than you," the Goddess paused, her eyes raking over Synnove with a cruel smirk. "There is however a simple way to boost ones power and that is to steal it. I lost my chance with your Mother, but I would not make the same mistake twice. The last time we faced one another Calypso bested me and reduced me to an almost mortal state. For centuries I have been slowly regaining what she stole from me and with your generous donation this time she will be the one who faces the humiliation of aging and decaying like a mere mortal. I will best her and I will make her pay for all that she has taken!" Rán screamed, directing her words more to Calypso than to Synnove. "I was the one who imprisoned you in the Locker little one. You needed time to ripen, for your strength to grow, but I had to keep you safe from others who would try to steal what is mine."  
"Then you were the one who let me out of the Locker?" Synnove asked. "because I was ripe for the picking!" she screamed at the Goddess.  
"No, that was not my doing," Rán said. "That was Calypso, she freed you in order to weaken me."  
"Will taking my power away truly kill me?" Synnove asked with a whimper.  
"Only if I take every last morsel of your energy," Rán said with a smile. "Which is what I fully intend to do."  
"Then I will die here," Synnove said.  
"Of course little one, I cannot afford to show you any mercy. I am going to take what rightfully belongs to me," the Goddess said with a sickly sweet smile.  
"My life does not belong to you!" Synnove yelled, fighting against her chains.  
"Oh but it does little one," Rán said. "I am getting old and as you would not be alive if not for me, it is your duty to provide me with life."  
"No!" Synnove protested. "I have no duty to you!"  
"Hush little one," Rán said in a falsely soothing voice. "This will all be over soon and you can be reunited with your dearly departed Mother."  
"No!" Synnove screamed again fighting against the chains with everything that she had left.  
"Say your goodbyes to this mortal coil little one, you will not suffer for long." Rán's hands came closer to her, the Goddess' fingernails like talons. She pulled aside Synnove's shirt, exposing the flesh just above Synnove's heart. Her fingernails sunk into Synnove's skin leaving half-moon cuts. The Goddess' fingers cut much deeper than Synnove expected, slicing painfully into her and forcing a strained cry from her lips. Synnove focused all of the energy that she had inside of her, she had to be strong like Sigridr said she was. She forced all of her anger and despair from her heart out to her wrists and ankles. She felt the metal burn against her skin, turning white hot with the heat.  
Rán jumped away from the burning chains with a yelp as flames leapt up her arm. However Rán easily bushed the flames aside once she got over her original shock. She cackled wickedly and said, "is that all you have little one?"  
Synnove forced more anger forwards, focusing on the same thing as before, trying her best to set the Goddess alight.  
"Ha! You truly are pathetic," Rán said. "Your Mother should have really taught you better. But oh – that is right, she was murdered wasn't she?"  
Synnove snarled and lashed out at Rán, stopping short as her chains held her in place.  
"Stefan was never meant to kill her you should know. He was ordered only to retrieve her, I suppose that you can never trust anyone to do anything properly."  
"Stefan worked for you!" Synnove cried in outrage.  
"But of course little one," Rán said nonchalantly. "His job was to find you and return you to me, but he failed at that task as well. I do not lament his death. His uses were limited and he can be easily replaced. You would be surprised what lengths some men will go to once you promise them their hearts desire."  
"I will kill you!" Synnove screamed "Mother is dead because of you!" she pulled against her chains and tried to set Rán alight again, but all she succeed in doing was burning her own skin as the chains rested against her flesh. Synnove screamed in pain and anguish, feeling desperation coupled with desolation overwhelm her.

Rán ignored Synnove's screams and began to chant in a language that Synnove did not recognise, her pace and ferocity increasing as time passed. At the same time Rán moved her hands together rapidly as if she were sewing an invisible thread in midair. The chant was rhythmic, and slow and with each word the Goddess spoke Synnove felt herself growing weaker.  
"Stop!" she screamed as tears continued to trail down her face. She bucked and kicked against the chains, but to no avail, her limbs felt like lead and the more she struggled the weaker she felt.  
Suddenly the chanting stopped, and Rán backed away from Synnove, apparently feeling drained herself. The Goddess was breathing heavily and in her shaking hands she held a thick black rope which pulsed a glowing blue light in time with Synnove's heartbeat. The rope lead from Synnove's chest, right where her heart was and the other end connect to the same place on Rán.  
The Goddess smirked at Synnove's helpless form. She watched as Synnove cried tears of pain and despair. Synnove knew her fate, Rán would steal every ounce of energy within her and in turn Synnove would die. There was no way out of this mess, she would die alone in an ice palace far away from James. Synnove lost her will to fight once she realised she would never see James' handsome face again or be wrapped in his loving and protective arms. It would all end here and there was nothing that she could do to change that.  
Rán backed away from Synnove, the rope lengthening itself as she turned to sit on her throne. "You know that you do not have much longer left my little one so you should make yourself comfortable while you can."  
Synnove glared at the Goddess, unable to speak for weakness. Her eyes then drifted up to her left hand. She smiled as widely as she could managed when her gaze fell on James' ring, "oh darling I am so sorry," she whispered to her ring hoping that somehow James could hear her. "Please forgive me for being so foolish, I should have listened to you, but my head – I just was not thinking properly. I made so many promises to you my darling and I will never be able to fulfil them. I am so, so sorry." She paused, her eyes darting up to the Goddess who had imprisoned her, Rán had not taken any notice of Synnove's whispered words. Her eyes then turned back to the ring James had given it. She stared at it lovingly, pretending that it was James. "Please do not come looking for me, it is too dangerous for you here. Stay where you are and stay safe my darling. I love you." Shortly afterwards Synnove slipped into unconsciousness, the world turning black around her.

* * *

**My best friend - My Dog - is very sick at the moment. I've been hand-feeding him his meals because otherwise he wont eat and I have been in tears for the past couple of days. He has been my dog since I was 9 years old (I'm 21 now) so he takes up a big part of my heart. I know that he is already living on borrowed time - the vet predicted he would be gone in 6 months after his last big operation, which was over 1 year and 6 months ago - but that does not make things any easier.  
As a result I do not know when I will have the next chapter written. I do not aim to take a long time - but I am fragile at the moment.**

- Keggy


	63. Last Man Standing

"Why did you call fer me?" the woman who stepped out of the blinding light demanded. Her eyes darted straight to Captain Barbossa with a thoroughly unimpressed look on her face and as her line of sight drifted and came to rest on Captain Sparrow, the woman looked even less impressed. With a snarl on her lips she demanded again to know she had been called. Her instant thought was that one of the Pirate Lords who stood before her had managed to capture a girl with ocean coloured eyes with every intention of forcing something from the girl and had not planned on the poor thing crying and bringing her to the rescue, but no matter how hard she looked, she could not see the girl she was looking for.

James cleared his throat and took a step forwards to the mysterious woman who had yet to introduce herself. "I did not realise that I had called for you, but now that you are here, I would appreciate your help."

"Who are you?" the woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am James Norrington," he said barely able to hold his painful tears back. "And Synnove was stolen from me."

The woman tilted her head to the side in a familiar manner that forced another stab of pain through James' heart. "Who is this Synnove?"

Clutching onto Synnove's necklace tightly he held it out to the woman so that she could see it clearly. "Synnove is the one who gave this to me."

The woman stepped closer and examined the large sapphire stone in James' hand, instantly recognising it as something she had seen many different women carrying over the centuries that she had been trapped. "What be she to you?"

"Synnove is," James paused, never having been very good with words meant that he was struggling to find the words to give her justice. He took a deep breath to calm himself before beginning again, "Synnove is the love of my life."

Again the dark skinned woman stepped forwards closer to James. She studied his face intently, looking for the familiar hint of deception she frequently found in the eyes of pirates. But this man was not lying to her. This man truly did love the woman he had lost. "Where did you lose her?"

"I did not lose her!" James roared forgetting for a moment Synnove's rescue could quite possible rely on this woman. "She was taken for me!"

Gillette moved towards James and the woman in an attempt to calm the tempers of both his former superior and the mystery woman. "A large wave with black netting crashed into the ship and took Synnove away. Norrington tried his best to keep a hold of her, but the wave was too powerful," Gillette explained.

"Are you certain of dem nets?"

"Yes," Groves added also stepping forwards, "we all saw them. There is no doubt whatsoever about the black nets."

Captain Barbossa and Captain Sparrow were being uncharacteristically quiet; something James would have picked up on much sooner had he not been so entirely focused on convincing the woman, whomever she was, to help him find Synnove. Instead James was studying the woman's reaction to the mention of black nets, it was obvious that she was familiar with whom the nets belonged to. The woman may have done her best to hide the look of disgust which flickered across her face, but to James it was obvious.

In that moment he seized the only semblance of an opportunity that he saw, "I think that it is safe to assume you are familiar with the one who stole Synnove?" James questioned, waiting for the woman to acknowledge him.

The woman nodded slowly, "I be familiar wit 'er what stole your lover."

"Then will you help me bring Synnove back?" James requested. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep the pleading tone of desperation from his voice, showing more vulnerability than he already had would weaken his bargaining position.

"I be doin' this, but not fer you," the woman said. "I 'ave business wit 'er what stole your lover."

James let out the breath that he did not realise he had been holding in and whispered, "thank you," almost silently. "Might I ask whom you are?" James questioned, stepping as lightly with his words as he could.

The woman smirked, "I am the Goddess Calypso," she said.

James faltered for a moment before regaining his composure and began to say something before he was interrupted.

"That cannot be," a female voice spoke from behind a large group of pirates, "Gods and Goddess are the things of fairytales and nothing more."

Groves turned around in a flash as his eyes met with Yulia's. He had no idea that Yulia had made her way above deck, or how much of the discussion that she had heard. Instantly he was overcome with a deep fear that what Yulia had said would gain the Goddesses anger. As subtly as possible Groves moved between Calypso and Yulia so that any attempt to strike Yulia would have to go through him first. In that same moment Theodore Groves realised he no longer loved Evelyn, he loved Yulia Osmosechu. Such a thought was long overdue.

Calypso let out a dark laugh, "dey not believe until de see it fer demselves." To prove her point Calypso raised her hand and further out in the ocean a column of water rose with the movement of her hand.

Yulia gasped and covered her mouth in shock. She wanted to back away but instead she moved herself closer to Groves, clutching onto the back of his shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "I-I-I am s-sorry that I-I doubted you," Yulia stuttered from her newly found safe position.

Calypso merely nodded in response and turned her attention back to James. "You must be prepared for dat which may come," she said.

"I will do anything to bring Synnove back with me," James said, "absolutely anything."

"Dat not be what I meant."

James looked away from the Goddess to hide the tears he could feel brimming up in the corners of his eyes. He knew what Calypso really meant by her words, but he just had to have faith that it had not yet come to such a thing yet. He managed to hold his tears from falling down his cheeks for long enough to turn back to Calypso and say, "the sooner we leave, the less likely that harm would have befallen Synnove."

The Goddess turned her attention from James and back to the pirates which stood surrounding her on the deck. Her eyes lingered on Ragetti as she remembered all he had done for her, though when she smiled at him he ducked behind Pintel despite the fact that Pintel was much shorter. "Who among ye be coming? Step forward."

Gillette and Groves both stepped forwards without taking a second to think. Unexpectedly Yulia too stepped forwards to stand between the two naval soldiers. Groves turned to Yulia, his eyes wide and about to say something to discourage her participation but he was silenced by her long, thin fingers threading through his. It amazed him how such a simple gesture could say so much. Heavy footfalls alerted them to the next man who would step forward and accompany the rescue mission, all eyes widened to see Captain Barbossa was the owner of those loud steps.

"I be havin' an investment which I won't be givin' up so easily," Captain Barbossa said as if it were all the justification he needed.

"Bugger," Captain Sparrow whispered not so quietly as he too stepped forwards. He knew that he had no choice otherwise once Captain Barbossa had stepped forwards. Jack then shot a glare at Mr. Gibbs, silently telling the older man that he too needed to step forwards and be part of this expedition to who-knows-where with an angry Goddess who would most likely try to kill him at one point during said expedition.

"Gather closer, now we go," Calypso said.

Keys pushed himself out from behind James and walked towards the Goddess with his namesake dangling from his teeth and his tail twitching, but not wagging. The dog dropped onto his belly with his back legs in a standing position. James could not be sure, but it almost looked like the dog was begging to be taken along with the rest of the group. Calypso's eyes trailed the dog before she nodded to him, seeming to accept his request. Keys then trotted away from the Goddess and made his way back to sit at James' feet.

Calypso turned to James and held her hand out to him, gesturing for him to come closer. James stepped in front of the Goddess and allowed her to take hold of Synnove's necklace while not letting go of it himself. Without any other words of explanation, Calypso closed her eyes, turning her head to the sky before raising her arms. She took a deep breath, concentrating on the flow of energy from the sapphire and seeking out the distinctive vibrations which would lead her to the underwater ice palace belonging to Rán. Such a meeting between the two Goddess of the Sea was long overdue and this time Calypso would not hold anything back just because Rán shared her bloodline. There was no longer any time for mercy, this would be an all out war for the dominance of the sea.

A blinding bright white light, similar to the one Synnove's necklace produced, enveloped the ship in a flash. James, along with the rest of the crew shielded his eyes from the light. As soon as he opened them again he saw that he was no longer onboard the _Black Pearl_, he was somewhere else entirely. He blinked away the remnants of the blinding light from his eyes before taking in his surroundings. He was no longer standing face-to-face with Calypso, instead he stood in the middle of a circular room. All around him were thick walls of ice and ornate pillars carved from ice with a distinct Ancient Greek theme to them stood tall around the perimeter of the room. With each breath he took James could see it turn to condensation and float away, it was the kind of cold which James could feel settling into his bones. James felt a heavy body collide with his leg and looked down to see that Keys had pushed against him to snap him back to his senses. The fur all along Keys' back was sticking straight up and a snarl curled his mouth as the dog waited for orders. James replaced Synnove's necklace back where she had placed it the night she had given it to him, offering a silent promise that he would not leave this place without her. James reached one hand down to give Keys a reassuring pat on the head while his other hand rested on top of his sword, ready to be unsheathed at a moment's notice. James made eye contact with Gillette, Groves and Yulia, who was still clinging tightly to Groves' shirt, before he turned around to try and locate Calypso along with the pirate Captain's and Mr. Gibbs. He turned in a slow circle, listening for the slightest noise, but the room in which they were in was home to a deafening silence. On the other side of the room he found the four whom he had been looking for along with a large door which reached all the way up to the ceiling separating them from the rest of the ice palace.

Calypso said nothing as she moved towards the door, placing both palms upon it and pushing her supernatural strength against it. James beckoned his former officers to follow him towards the door and they followed his silent instruction without the need for words, each of them with their hands hovering above their swords.

"Before we go any further, I must ask, what business is it that you have with Rán?" James asked.

Calypso's eyes darkened, but not one trace of a scowl graced her features. "Rán betrayed me," she explained.

James nodded in immediate understanding and said nothing more as he waited for Calypso to open the door.

With an easy swipe Calypso opened the doors and strode through them with such an air of confidence it was almost as if this was her home and she was not the intruder. The Goddess placed a finger to her lips to silence the group following her though the door. The new room they ventured into was made of ice as well with another door off to the side that already lay wide open. Captain Sparrow along with Captain Barbossa both felt a pleasured smile adorn their faces as they saw the wide open door lead to a room filled with nothing other than gold. The only thing which stopped either of the pirates from dashing towards the door was a cold stare from Calypso which froze them on the spot. Calypso made eye contact with James before pointing towards a throne which stood directly in front of them. Sitting on the throne was a woman with long knotted blonde hair and skin with the lightest tinge of blue to it. The dress that she wore appeared to be made of layers upon layers of thick black netting that left a large amount of the woman's legs exposed as well as her arms and shoulders. Her eyes were closed and protruding from her chest was a thick rope pulsing slowly with a bright blue light.

James' eyes followed the rope, searching for the end and what it was attached to. What he found made him sick to his stomach. On the opposite side of the room there was a large, thick slab of granite and chained to it was the woman that James had come this far to find. If she heard anything that was happening within the room, she did not make it known. Synnove was laying limp in her bindings, her face to one side so that James could see nothing of it, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was her. As soon as James laid eyes on her prone form he wanted to charge forwards and free her, but the unmoving Goddess sitting upon her icy throne had him second guessing his options of rescue. Calypso pointed to the pulsing rope and then to the sword at James' side. She was silent in her motions, not wanting to run the risk of waking Rán before it was absolutely necessary. James unsheathed his sword slowly, minimising the amount of noise it would make. Under the careful but silent instruction of Calypso James advanced on a piece of the rope which lay nearest to him. His eyes darted between the apparently sleeping Goddess Rán, the rope on the floor and Calypso. He took a deep breath and brought his sword down upon the rope in one swift movement. Instead of being soft and separating easily, the rope felt more like rock and James' hands ached from the power of the rebounding force. Still the Goddess had not stirred. Gillette took that as a sign to join James, bringing his blade down upon the rope at the same time that James did, this time they had more luck as the rope split halfway through. Groves looked behind him to where Yulia was still holding tightly to his shirt, her hands were shaking, but the look in her eyes was begging him to help James and Gillette. Groves gave Yulia's hand a reassuring squeeze before unsheathing his sword and making his way forward.

For a third time then men raised their swords and brought them down upon the pulsating rope. As the final piece of rope was sliced through the bright glow around it disappeared and the black eyes of the Goddess sitting upon her throne snapped open.

"Calypso," the Goddess said slowly.

Calypso smirked at the younger Goddess, "Rán," she replied just as slowly.

"I knew that this day would come, Mother," Rán stated. She rose from her position on her throne and made her way to Calypso. "I expected nothing less from you," she added.

The older Goddess said nothing in reply; she simply smiled and kept eye contact with Rán. With each step Rán took closer, Calypso matched her steps until they were almost nose-to-nose in front of each other. The two Sea Goddesses circled one another, speaking in a language that was as ancient as they were. While the words they spoke were unintelligible to everyone in the room the anger and pure hatred held in both voices was obvious. While they were distracted with their argument, Gillette and Groves backed away slowly to their former positions close to the door.

Captain Sparrow and Captain Barbossa were torn between getting out of the situation they found themselves in and the prospect of liberating the treasure in the adjacent room. Mr. Gibbs on the other hand was far more concerned with making sure that he made it out of this in one piece, and standing in a room with two Sea Goddesses who clearly did not have any love for one another, was not the best place to be if he wanted to keep his life.

Rán said something with a snarl on her black painted lips and Calypso threw her head back and laughed maliciously. James could do nothing but watch as the Goddesses argued, hoping that they would become so distracted with one another that he could sneak across the room and finally reach Synnove. She was so close that he could see her, but too far away to touch.

Rán, either losing patience with Calypso or taking offence at the elders laughter; made the first move. She raised her hand high above her head, letting out a fierce roar as she created an orb of energy. The orb was a shinning black, full of Rán's strength and immense hatred towards the woman who was her Mother. She threw the orb at Calypso, hoping to be done with her quickly, but the older Goddess easily deflected it with a brush of her hand. Calypso created an orb of her own, but it was dark blue colour, reflecting who truly ruled the ocean. Calypso kept feeding power into the orb in her hand, making it larger with each passing second until it was twice the size of the one that Rán had created. Calypso smirked, one hand behind her back and away from Rán as she sent the orb spiralling towards the Goddess. Rán deflected the blow as easily as Calypso had, but she had not paid the older Goddess enough attention and was hit by a second smaller orb that Calypso had been making while her hand was behind her back. A pained shriek erupted from Rán as the orb scorched her arm leaving blisters in its wake.

James watched the Goddesses continue their battle out of the corner of his eye as he made his way over to Synnove. He had decided that the Goddesses were distracted enough with one another to pay him no heed. His steps were slow and deliberate, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to himself as he moved. As James made his way closer he saw that her black hair had thick strands of white running through it, but her face remained the same as always. Synnove's eyes were closed and her breathing was so shallow that James was certain that he was too late and she was already dead.

"Synnove wake up my love," James whispered. He tried his best to be as silent as possible so that the Goddesses would not pay him any attention and for the moment it seemed to be working. Apparently the bad blood between these two ran very deep and James was thankful for the distraction. The chains around Synnove's wrists and ankles held her tightly in place and were made of such strong metal that James could not see a way of breaking them. Underneath the chains James could see the dark red of blood. Synnove had obviously tried to escape and met with nothing but resistance from her bindings. The sword at his side would not cut through the metal and he did not like the idea of trying in case he hurt Synnove in the process.

"I will get you out of this, I promise," he said. This time his voice was a little louder in the hopes that Synnove would hear him and open her eyes, but still she remained motionless apart from the slight rise and fall of her chest to show that she was alive and still fighting.

Whilst James had been tending to Synnove he had not been watching the Goddesses. He failed to note the key moment when Rán turned the battle in her favour. Rán had created something of a shield made of her pure black energy and was using said shield she was able to hold back everything that Calypso was throwing at her. Rán however, had been paying attention to what James was doing, and he was far too close to Synnove for her liking. She diverted half of her attention away to the mortal man, focusing a small piece of her energy away from her shield Rán twisted her free hand into a tight fist. Her eyes not moving from her intended target. James dropped to the ground in agony, clutching his chest.

The only thing Synnove could hear was a deep cry of pain coming from a male voice and her eyes shot open as she recognised who the cry belonged to. Synnove had forgotten where she was and shot upright only to be slammed roughly back down by the chains holding her in place.

"James!" Synnove screamed, thrashing around to try and find him. "James where are you!"

A hand reached up from on the right side of Synnove and wrapped around her wrist just below where the chain held her. The calloused hand which reached for hers belonged to none other than James. A sigh of relief escaped Synnove's lips, his hold was strong despite the pain she had heard in his cry. Synnove pulled herself as far as she could over to her right and looked down at James as he crumpled over in pain. His other hand was pressed to his chest hiding the blood from Synnove's line of vision.

"What is wrong?" she croaked, her throat dry and hoarse from screaming.

"I am alright darling," he replied. He hauled himself to his feet, keeping his hand wrapped around Synnove's wrist and gave her a weak smile.

Her eyes darted straight to his other hand which was pressed to his chest and her eyes widened in fear. "You are bleeding!" she cried. In her distress Synnove momentarily she forgot about the chains holding her captive as she reached for James and quickly found herself being jerked backwards, her head making an audible crack against the granite slab. She blinked her eyes in a dazed fashion before recovering her train of thought and reached out to find James again.

"Try to stay still until I can get you out of these chains," James whispered. He was smiling down at her, his green eyes shining with happiness despite the fact that his chest felt as if it were being clamped by a vice.

Synnove smiled back at James before saying, "you know I have never been too good at sitting still."

James let out a small laugh before moving his hand upwards and pushing his fingers through Synnove's. She gave them a tight squeeze to show him that everything would be alright which he quickly returned. "I know all too well your difficulty with remaining in one place."

Synnove giggled, forgetting everything else that was around her and focusing only on the man leaning above her. She wanted to reach out and bring him into her arms, hold him tight and never let go. James leant his face closer to Synnove's, his lips inches away from hers when he let out a cry of pain.

Again Rán had twisted her hand into a tight fist, creating the pain that James was experiencing. His heart felt as if it were about to explode from the pain. James had not felt anything like this pain since he had dealt with Stefan and as he looked to the Goddess on the other side of the room, he understood where Stefan had gained his strength. He fought to keep breathing as the pressure and pain increased, clawing at his chest with his eyes rolling back in his head. Blood seeped through his shirt and covered his hand, staining it dark red.

"You!" Synnove yelled, "stop hurting him! Stop it now!" She felt anger welling deep inside her chest as James continued to suffer. She struggled desperately against her chains to reach James and do something to ease his pain, but there was nothing that she could do.

Rán cackled wickedly at the absurdity of Synnove's orders. "Hush little one so that I may concentrate on getting rid of our guests. After that you can finish giving me all that you have." Rán clenched her fist again and James doubled over in pain, barely managing to hold back his cries.

"Stop hurting him!" Synnove continued on ignoring Rán's taunting words. "James!" Synnove cried to the unmoving body crumpled over the top of her, her fingers still entwined with his. "It is not safe for you here! Please go back to the ship. I will not have you hurt any more for my sake, please, please, please, go back to the ship." More tears made their way down her already soaked cheeks as she pleaded with James. "Go with Calypso and return to safety."

"I will never leave you Synnove," James said, his voice thick with determination, but just as weak as the rest of his body. "No matter what the cost, I have not come this far to lose you now."

Synnove whimpered and said, "you always let yourself get hurt for me."

James nodded, "that is the way it always will be. There is nothing for me without you. I am not leaving without you, not now and not ever." He barely had a chance to finish his sentence before Rán inflicted another round of pain upon him.

Synnove knew that Rán had taken a lot of strength from her, but even before then she had been no match for the Goddess. Calypso was her only hope for making it out of here alive and even the older Goddess was struggling to gain ground against Rán now that she had taken strength from Synnove. Despite the hopelessness of her situation Synnove would not just lay there and allow Rán to hurt the man so loved so deeply. But no matter how much she kicked and thrashed about reaching for James she could not move and she was becoming weaker by the moment. Tears slid down Synnove's cheeks as she watched James' face contort with pain, but he held strong, no further sounds of pain escaping him. Synnove felt her blood boiling with anger towards the Sea Goddess and she grabbed tightly to that anger, focusing on it just as she had before. She turned her eyes away from James and looked straight to Rán, forcing her anger and pain towards the Goddess, Synnove wished that Rán would burn into ash.

Rán burst into flames before their very eyes.

The younger Goddess shrieked as the bright red flames morphed into a blindingly bright blue flame and began to burn stronger. The layers of netting that made up Rán's dress began to melt into her skin and no amount of clawing at the makeshift dress could rip it from her body. Blisters erupted across Rán's skin, bursting as soon as the appeared and spurting blood across the stark white floor of ice. Rán screamed at such a high pitch that the room felt as if it were shaking. The Goddess dropped to her knees in agony and the shield which had been holding Calypso back was down in a matter of seconds allowing the Calypso to advance upon Rán.

Calypso made her next strike against at the same moment that Synnove lost her strength. The flames which had covered Rán were beginning to die away, replaced by orbs of blue light begin created by Calypso and thrown in an assault at Rán.

Synnove turned her head away from the battle, her entire body aching with exhaustion. She had saved James, and that was all she could think about, that was all that she cared about. James' eyes were wide as he looked from Synnove to Rán and then to his blood covered hand. Synnove forgot about her chains and moved to sit up, this time the chains were no longer holding her back, instead the cuffs remained around her wrists, but the chain itself had snapped. She threw her arms around James' neck and held onto him so tightly she feared that she may have broken him as he let out a grunt of mild discomfort. Synnove pulled back from James, her hands darting to his chest to seek out the source of his bleeding. Her fingernails accidently ripped through the thin material, tearing his shirt all the way down to the scar above his heart. Synnove placed her fingertips to the scar, feeling for any sign of a wound, but she found none. James placed his hand over the top of Synnove's, holding it to his chest.

"I am fine, the pain is gone," James answered the question that Synnove had not yet spoken. "You never told me that you could do that," he said referencing her fiery display.

"I did not know that I could do it," Synnove replied honestly. "She was hurting you and all I could feel was anger, I used that anger to set Rán on fire."

"Perhaps this is not the best time to make a joke Synnove, but I must say, remind me never to anger you," James said. He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled her smaller body against his. Behind him, the battle continued.

A loud crash, remnant of the sound of thunder, resounded behind Synnove, but when she and James turned to look, they could see nothing except for a blinding white light colliding with a light made of darkness. The bodies of the Goddesses were indistinguishable from the light which surrounded them. Screams of pain and triumph could be heard from within the light, but it was impossible for anyone watching to tell who was winning the battle. That was until the dark light disappeared and Rán dropped to the floor.

* * *

**Thank you all for you kind words of support for my dog. He is doing much better now, bouncing around and I am pretty sure he is experiencing his second puppyhood with the way he has been acting lately. His problem was a stomach ache – but because of his other problems his stomach ache caused him a lot more pain than a regular one. I'm so glad that he is better!  
In other news - I leave on my epic journey to Sweden on the 14th of August! I say epic journey because I am travelling from the bottom of the Southern Hempishere to the top of the Northern Hemisphere and to top it all off - it will be my first plane ride EVER. Any suggestion on how to calm my nerves about flying all that way by myself?**


	64. In Your Eyes IsA Place Worth Remembering

"Calypso defeated Rán?" a female voice asked from beside Synnove.

James jumped at the unexpected question, one arm wrapping around Synnove to pull her closer while the other went to his weapon at his side. His eyes moved about franticly as he searched for the owner of the voice and found only a wall of ice.

"Yes," Synnove responded to the disembodied woman. "Calypso has saved me."

James searched for the owner of the voice whom Synnove was obviously already familiar with. His eyes landed on the panel of ice closest to Synnove where he could see the reflection of a dark haired woman who looked remarkably like Synnove. James jumped in momentary fright, his hand leaving his sword and wrapping around Synnove instead.

"Is this the man you told me about Synnove?" Sigridr asked. "He is just as handsome as you described."

James blushed before his face turned into a dark glare. "Who is this woman Synnove?"

"Oh forgive me for not introducing you," Synnove said. "This is Sigridr, she is the daughter of Rán. Do not worry though, she is nothing like Rán, she is kind hearted and she kept me company earlier." Synnove's arms made their way up and down James' back slowly encouraging his glare to turn into a much softer, albeit strained smile.

"Thank you for watching over her," James said.

"You are most welcome," Sigridr replied. "I have watched over so many of my descendants as they have come to Rán, I am glad your lover was able to be set free."

"Hello Calypso," Sigridr said, turning her attention to the ancient Goddess. "I had wondered when you would finally come to put my Mother in her place. I have felt you gaining power rapidly ever since you were freed."

Calypso gave Sigridr a rare genuine smile, advancing upon the wall of ice she laid her hands against it. Sigridr moved to stand in front of Calypso, placing her hands to Calypso's through the ice. Calypso breathed a deep sigh, "Rán be keepin' you too long from where you need to be."

Sigridr nodded, "I have wandered these walls for what feels like an eternity."

"You cannot be set free witout someone to replace you," Calypso explained to Sigridr. "I can feel it in dem walls."

"I know," Sigridr admitted. "I could never ask another to take my place," Sigridr replied.

"You need not ask any longer," the Goddess answered. Calypso stalked over to the half-conscious body of her daughter, grabbing her by her hair and pulling her to her feet. Rán's eyes fluttered open, no longer purely black like that of a shark, in fact, they showed signs of the woman that she once was in their sea-like colour, but that was something only Calypso could see in her.

"What will you do with her?" Sigridr asked as she floated across to the panel of ice closest to Calypso.

"I be placin' Rán where she can do no more 'arm," Calypso explained.

"You mean she will replace me?" Sigridr questioned, ever hopeful that she would be able to reunite with Bjorn.

"It be the only way to ensure Rán cannot ever rise again."

"What exactly will you be doing with said Goddess?" Captain Sparrow asked, moving forward to Calypso slowly. His pockets were bulging with golden coins and other trinkets while around his neck sat many layers of jewel encrusted necklaces, all of which he had liberated from Rán's personal stockpile. Captain Barbossa's appearance was little better but he had the sense not to bring unnecessary attention to himself, especially after Calypso's mighty display of power.

"Rán be sealed in de ice so Sigridr can be free," Calypso explained.

"So she wouldn't miss anything if it were to say … go missing?" Captain Sparrow asked with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

Calypso looked at the Pirate Lord with a raised eyebrow, some people never changed despite everything that they had seen in their lifetimes, pirates were always among that kind of people. The Goddess sighed, "no Jack, her won't be missin' anything'" she said.

"Excellent! I'll trust you to carry on then." Captain Sparrow replied clapping his hands together and turning back to room still filled with treasure. "Mr. Gibbs, I'll be needing your assistance, my pockets do not have any more room and yours are empty."

Calypso concentrated her power, one hand fisted into Rán's hair and pressing her to the ice walls of her new prison while her other hand laid against the ice, feeling the vibrations of Rán's magic and quickly undoing it. Calypso did not speak aloud, but her lips moved rapidly in a silent chant of magic. The wall beneath her fingertips began to warm as she created a kind of one way doorway to imprison Rán and free Sigridr. Calypso prodded at the wall of ice testing the strength of Rán's fortifications surrounding it. Her eyes were closed tightly as she pictured unpicking the threads of Rán's magic, doing so in such a careful way that she created a small enough opening to pull Sigridr free without ruining the structural integrity of the complex spell. Long before Calypso was imprisoned such a task would have been easy for her to complete, but after being sealed in human form for so long and cut off from her full strength, it was taking longer than normal for her do it. With a final shuddering groan Calypso felt the doorway open and the ice shift beneath her hand. She pushed the silent Rán through the wall and pulled Sigridr through at the same time. Rán had nothing left in her to fight with, the Goddess was empty and bested; the only thing she could do and still retain her dignity would be to accept her punishment with grace, which she did in silence. From this day onwards, Rán would fight no more.

"Thank you dearest Calypso," Sigridr said wrapping her arms around the Goddess and pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Synnove?" Sigridr called out. Her body was almost completely transparent and she seemed to be fading away by the moment. She glided over towards Synnove and came to a stop before the young woman.

"Yes?" Synnove replied, her grip on James' arm as tight as ever although she had nothing to fear.

"If I see your Mother on the other side, I will tell her of what a strong woman you became."

"Thank you," Synnove replied. "I hope that you are able to reunite with your family."

Sigridr said nothing more as slowly she faded away into nothingness, finally free after centuries of imprisonment. Synnove let out a sigh of relief as her body sank forwards, exhausted.

There was a flash of lightning far overhead was accompanied by the low rumble of thunder which had been going on for a while now. The temperature inside of the ice palace seemed to drop further, not that anyone had noticed. Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa were far too busy arguing over who deserved the biggest horde of treasure from Rán's stash and who should carry said treasure back to the ship. At the moment neither pirate was winning the argument, but Mr. Gibbs seemed to have drawn the short straw being of the lowest rank he would have to carry most of the treasure.

As Rán was being sealed within the wall of ice Synnove felt her strength leave her and he body collapsed against James'. She was still breathing, but staying awake was becoming a task of mammoth proportions and required an energy that Synnove no longer seemed to have. James cradled Synnove's upper body close to his chest; her eyes were fighting to stay open as he ran his fingers gently through her hair. There were streaks of silver through her normally pitch black hair that made her seem far older than she was, but her young face was free from wrinkles. It seemed that Rán's spell had only stripped some of Synnove's power, not all of it, but she was still weak. Far too weak to move and her grip on James' arm weakened by every passing moment. Her breathing was shallow and it reminded James of the first time she had nearly been taken from him by the Sea Goddess, and how he had sat by her bedside for hours as they bled into days, just waiting for her to move again and now he may be forced to endure the same thing over again.

James had lifted the whining Keys up onto the slab of granite where Synnove lay. The beast nuzzled his wet nose into her face before licking and gently digging at her hands, waiting for them to come alive a play with him like they always do. Synnove stretched her hand out to stroke Keys, but soon her energy left her and she simply rested her hand on his soft head.

Gillette stood on the other side of Synnove, his gaze full of concern for the young woman he had come to think of as a sister, much like his Mother had come to think of her as a daughter. Miss Synnove was family as far as he was concerned and he did not want to lose another sister to the cruel workings of the world. Gillette rubbed her arms, trying to force heat into her frozen limbs, but to no avail as she continued to shiver and her lips stayed blue. She smiled weakly at Gillette in thanks for his gesture, but she could not force her body to make a sound. She wanted to tell them both that she would be alright, but she did not want to lie to either of them. She felt cold radiating from her heart and spreading outwards to her limbs; it was as if she had ice in her veins rather than blood. The heat from James' arms wrapped around her gave little comfort as she came to the realisation that she was slipping away.

Groves stood behind the trio with his arms tightly wrapped around Yulia who was sobbing in his arms. Synnove had come to mean a great deal to Yulia in the short amount of time that she had known her and Groves could say the same. Synnove was, after all, the one who convinced Groves that he needed to forget about Evelyn if he ever wanted a chance with Yulia. She had also convinced Yulia that Groves was nowhere near as intimidating as she had originally thought him to be. Yulia and Groves had been pushed together by Synnove, and they both felt they owed much of their happiness to her, they could never thank her enough for what she had done.

Calypso moved closer to Synnove, tired though she was from her battle with Rán, the young woman who lay on the slab before her, one of her own blood, would not live for much longer if Calypso did not do something to intervene. Calypso could see the glowing light of life surrounding Synnove was beginning to fluctuate and fade away, alerting Calypso to the fact that the woman was dying rather than just simply weakened. While the former naval officers had severed Rán's method of extracting energy from Synnove, they had not managed to cut it off in time. Seeing through the eyes of a Goddess Calypso could make out what appeared to be a slow but steady leak of energy seeping from Synnove's heart and disappearing with Rán no longer able to absorb it for herself. Calypso would have to fix this if Synnove were to live.

Turning her attention from Synnove, she studied the man holding her so tightly. She could see the wound in his chest through the layers of his clothing and she could feel his heart breaking in two. James' wound had healed on his physical body, leaving only a nasty scar as a reminder, but to those who could see, the soul remembered the injury. Nothing could hide from a Goddess as powerful as she. Calypso stared at the pair before her, something had joint them together and as she looked harder she discovered a thick long golden thread stretched from the heart of the young woman and connected directly to the heart of the man. Her eyes widened as she realised how delicately, yet how strongly the pair were twined together in body and in destiny. Knowing this, Calypso simply could not allow the young woman to die because of the actions of Rán.

Calypso sauntered forwards, ignoring the suspicious and questioning looks she was receiving from the men in the room. She surveyed Synnove for a moment longer, deciding the best way to go about fixing what was so obviously broken. The dog simply looked up at Calypso, but did not make a sound as the Goddess approached. Calypso pressed her hands over the heart of the young woman and pushed forward with her otherworldly strength to fix the damage which had been inflicted. The ocean coloured eyes of Synnove shot open as she felt a searing heat stream through her frozen body. She let out small whimpering sounds as the burning sensation continued. Both James and Gillette moved forwards to guard Synnove from the potential wrath of Calypso and a low growl emitted from Keys, but their actions were stopped by one simple stern look from the Goddess.

Jack looked up from his argument with Captain Barbossa, because this was clearly an argument he would not win against the older man and strutted over to Calypso. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Captain Barbossa, never one to be walked away from in the middle of an argument scowled at Jack and then followed him over to the slab of granite where Synnove was lying. "Aye what are ya doing?" he asked.

"I am returning that which was stolen," Calypso replied.

Synnove weakly moved her arm away from Gillette and placed it over Calypso's hand, "thank you My Lady, but are you not weakened from your battle?"

Calypso smiled at Synnove, "not so weakened dat I cannot perform a simple task. Now hush my chil' an' let me fix you," she said.

Synnove blushed at Calypso's words but shuffled slightly closer to James anyway, James looked down on her with a small but warm smile on his face.

"Look at that Hector, the Commodore is actually smiling. Terrifying aint it?" Jack said, thus ruining whatever moment had been building between the pair.

"Admiral," Synnove said, correcting Jack's words.

"Yes, yes, you think he is admirable, every woman thinks that of her lover," Jack said dismissively waving Synnove's words away. Captain Barbossa rolled his eyes at Jack's comment as he was used to the general way in which the younger man acted, but that did not mean that he liked him more the more time he spent with him, in fact, Barbossa found it to be quite the opposite.

"No, James is an Admiral, not a Commodore."

"Actually Synnove, I am no longer anything," James interjected.

"Officially yes, but you will always be an Admiral in my eyes. The highest rank," she said turning her vibrant blue eyes to James.

"Thank you my love," he said caressing her cheek.

Jack made sickening gagging noises in the background which forced Captain Barbossa to once again roll his eyes at Jack's antics. He couldn't wait to leave this place and maroon Jack on some freezing cold island somewhere in the North Sea where no one would ever find him. Maybe then Barbossa could finally be free of the constant annoyance that was Jack Sparrow. He knew it was wishful thinking, but even a pirate like him could dream, he thought as he shook his head at Jack's elevated gagging noises.

Another flash of lighting was quickly followed by a low rumble of thunder, with each flash and rumble the time between the two became closer and closer together. Only Calypso seemed to be paying attention to the noise far above the ice palace as she continued her work. Rán had been defeated, so the thunder and lightning could not have been caused by her and not knowing what was causing the rapid weather changes left Calypso with a slightly unnerved feeling. She was the Goddess of the Ocean, the almighty Calypso, feared by honest sailors and pirates alike, however, there were many realms which were not under her control. Though she could cause terrible storms, like the maelstrom which had taken so many lives during the battle which ultimately set her free, she was not in full control of the sky above. Whatever was causing the thunder and lightning had to be strong and possibly rather angry about something, something which Calypso could only guess at. She had after all, thrown her weight around a lot since she had returned to full power. She had reclaimed that which had been taken from her and then she had taken some more to show the other Gods and Goddess' that she was still just a strong as she had ever been. She could name hundreds who would jump at the opportunity to strike at her if they thought that she had even been slightly weakened. Calypso knew that she would have to deal with whatever was coming soon, but first she had to finish restoring Synnove's stolen life force.

The silver streaks in Synnove's hair had all disappeared and returned to their original pitch black colouring. Slowly the young woman was regaining her strength, she would need a lot of rest, even after Calypso was finished, but at least she was on the road to recovery now. Calypso concentrated harder as another crash of thunder could be heard overhead. She knew the wards Rán had placed on her palace were formidable and could hold out against a strong onslaught, but the need for urgency was still present. If she timed this well enough they would all be gone by the time the searcher found what they were looking for.

Unfortunately that was not to be so.

A flash of lightning entered the ice palace, casting a blinding white light throughout the room. When the blinding light faded three female figures stood in the center of where the lightning had just struck. One was an old woman with her long silver hair tied in a braid down her back. She had a dark blue robe wrapped around her skeletal frame and she was slightly hunched over with age. The second woman to appear was much younger and stood straight and tall. Her hair was a golden blonde colour and she wore aqua coloured robe around her body. The third was a child with white hair and a sky blue robe tied around her small frame. Their eyes were completely white and it appeared that they were blind, yet they still seemed to know all that was before them and perhaps more.

Calypso's dark eyes widened as the three women turned to her and spoke as one, completely disregarding the other people in the palace, "this cannot be Calypso, you have cheated us for the last time."

"This is no longer your concern," the oldest said.

"Nor is it your domain," the young woman said.

"You should leave now Sea Goddess," the youngest said.

"We be 'ere in de palace of my chil' an' you say I do not belong. It is you 'ho have no place 'ere."

"Our place is everywhere," they replied, hatred dripping from their joined voices.

Before Calypso could reply to their shared words Jack stepped forward and invited himself into the conversation, holding his hand out in a gesture waiting for a handshake.

"Hello ladies, I don't believe that we have had the pleasure of meeting before," Jack said forcing his way to attention.

The three women ignored Jack completely and continued to face Calypso, staring at her with their blind eyes.

Synnove broke the silence, "they are the Norns, they know all that has happened and all that will happen. I believe you could say they are similar to the Greek Fates, but they are not the same. The oldest is Urd, the one who knows the past, the youngest is Skuld and she knows what will happen in the future, the middle sister is Verdandi, the one who sees the present."

As the three Norns glided closer to Calypso, Keys began to growl, getting louder the closer they came to Synnove and James.

Jack shrunk away once Synnove explained the purpose of the three strange women, he no longer wanted to bring attention to himself in the presence of three women who held such power over the future. That was one sort of attention that he most certainly did not need.

"Correct," Calypso said, still standing between James and Synnove and the Norns.

The Norns turned their heads towards Synnove as she lay cradled still in James' arms.

"The balance must be restored," Urd, the oldest said.

"The future which has been seen must come to pass," said Verdandi, the middle sister.

"For the descendant to survive the Admiral must die," Skuld said.

"The descendant is the future, she must live." They spoke in unison.

"Why must only one live?" Calypso questioned.

"Two souls left their prison," spoke Urd.

"This should not have happened, but now it has revealed," Verdandi paused to allow Skuld to continue.

"Two futures lie ahead of this point, but only one soul can fulfil the duties required."

As one they spoke again, "the soul of the descendant is more important. The other must return to its prison."

Though James could not claim to understand everything which was happening he plainly understood that these women meant to separate him from Synnove. After everything that they had been through together he would not give her up. Even if they were Goddess' of some kind, they would have to pry his cold dead fingers from her body before they could take her away, something which they seemed intent on doing either way if he understood them correctly.

Synnove on the other hand understood perfectly what they meant to happen. Both James and herself had escaped the Locker and therefore they must have thrown the future off the course which the Norns had foreseen. In order to correct the course of their desired future the Norns needed Synnove to stay alive. In order to do this, they meant to keep her alive by ripping James away from her and returning him to the Locker, to wander until the end of time. Synnove knew that James would gladly return to the Locker if it meant that she would be safe, it was just the way that James was. Synnove could not stand the thought of a life without the man she had fallen in love with ever since she had met his emerald green eyes so long ago. Synnove silently promised herself that she would not allow James to throw his life away for her sake.

James wrapped his arm tightly around Synnove's waist and helped her to stand as she struggled to move around. She was still feeling weak, but if she was to face her death in this ice palace, then she would do so standing tall and proud. She would be full of courage and honour, something she had only truly learnt since she had come to know James. James held most of her weight against his body and smiled wearily down at her as she struggled further to wrap her own arm around his waist and stand straighter next to him. Keys jumped down from the granite slab and pushed himself between James legs. He continued to let out a vicious sounding low growl from his throat, the fur on the back of his neck sticking straight up in a display of anger. Synnove bent and patted him on the head, trying to calm the dog down, but it was of little use, especially when Synnove herself was just as angry as Keys.

"I will not allow it!" Synnove exclaimed, unleashing her deeply buried anger on the Norns.

"You have no choice. We are here to ensure that the correct future comes to pass and no mortal will stand in our way," the Norns said in unison.

"Why do I get the feeling they are not sharing their information with everyone?" Jack asked, moving to stand closer to Groves and Yulia and raising his eyebrow at the young woman. Yulia let out a small frightened whimper and moved closer to Groves, clinging to his shirt and watching the altercation unfold.

Synnove turned her head to address Jack's question, "the Norns foresee many futures, the one they favour the most requires either James or I to return to the Locker. They have arbitrarily decided that it should be James who returns to the Locker, while I live on to serve whatever purpose they have in store for me," Synnove explained. "But I will not allow them to take James away from me without a fight!"

Jack moved from his position next to Groves and Yulia and came to stop behind Synnove and James. He leant over the pair from behind and said, "I don't think that they are giving you much of a choice, love."

Synnove glared at Jack, "they do not control everything!" she hissed.

Jack held his hands up in defeat and backed away. He had the sense to look guilty as James, Gillette and Groves all unleashed their glares at him. It seemed even the beast of a dog was glaring at him for a moment, sometimes; Jack felt that he could never win.

While they were speaking the Norns were seemingly sharing glances. Discussing what they were going to do, without the need for words. Calypso watched the three women with narrowed eyes, although she could not interpret what their next move would be, she knew they were going to make a move very soon.

A flash of light erupted from between the three Norns and when the light died down, the three women stood with three identical swords in their hands. Each sword had an intricately designed black handle which was encrusted with rubies and rose quartz. The blades were sharpened to a fine point and reflected the light of the ice palace surrounding them. Urd's hunched over body struggled to lift the weight of the sword, as did the small form of the young Skuld. Verdandi was the only Norn who was able to hold her blade properly, and it was no mistake that she made the first move.

Synnove saw the bright silver flash of the three blades coming towards them before James did and it took her a split second to make her final decision. With all of the strength that she had left in her body, she pushed James away from her and spun around to stand in front of him. In that same instant the three blades pierced through the flesh of her back and emerged through her stomach at the front.

Synnove let out an inevitable cry of pain as she doubled over. Blood began to pour from the wounds of the three blades and soaked through the front of her sky-blue dress.

The Norns let out an ear splitting shriek before they spoke as one, "what have you done?" they wailed in the same high pitched voices as each removed their blade from Synnove's pale flesh.

James stared wide eyed at Synnove, frozen in place as he watched yet more blood spill from her wounds and as she coughed, allowing blood to spill forth from her lips. Before she fell to her knees, James regained his senses and caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist. Synnove let out another moan of pain as his hands brushed against her wounds. He lifted her up as gently as he could and lay her back down on the granite slab. Once again Keys jumped onto the slab next to Synnove, his earlier growls being replaced by a small whining noise.

Synnove coughed and finally spoke again, "I have changed the future which you foresaw. I promised myself a long time ago that I would never let James die for me, and I am a woman of my word," she rasped, more blood spilling forth from her lips.

"I would have gladly died for you Synnove," James cried, a lone tear tracing a path along his cheek.

Synnove slowly raised her hand to wipe the tear away, "that is the point my love, please do not cry."

Jack and Gillette took a step back from the pair, giving them some space to say what needed to be said before Synnove slipped away. Yulia buried her face into Groves' chest and began sobbing silently. Barbossa on the other hand was at a loss of what to so. He had only known the girl for a few days, so he would not feel any loss from such a parting, yet he could not bring himself to look away from scene unfolding before him.

The Norns let out another ear piercing shriek, and then their voices descended into a low rumble as they spoke amongst themselves in a language which could not be comprehended.

Verdandi spoke first, "never mind sisters. Only one needed to die tonight."

Urd spoke next, "and although this is not the best scenario."

"One has been taken away and one remains," Skuld said.

"Our work here is complete," they spoke together. They shared a nod before joining hands, with a large flash of blinding lightning and a roar thunder; the trio of Norns were gone as easily as they had appeared.

They all stared at the spot that the Norns had just vacated, amazed and horrified at the Goddess' destructive ability as well as their obvious lack of care. The Norns had stayed for no longer than ten minutes, but they taken so much more with them than just time.

Calypso finally spoke, "I mus' be leavin' you now." Calypso turned her head in a strange direction, as if she was listening to something, "it will not be long now before dey come fer me."

"Wait!" Gillette exclaimed, causing the Goddess to stop in mid step. She turned to him and waited for him to continue, however he found himself speechless when under the full attention of the Goddess.

Groves took charge from where Gillette had left off, "is there not something that you can do for her?" he asked

"Please!" Yulia's small voice begged

"Her threw her life down fer him which she love. Her chose her destiny. Dere is notin dat can be done," Calypso said.

"But you healed her before!" James exclaimed, "can you not do it again?"

"T'was diferren', I was replacin' what was unwillingly taken before. Her gave her life for you, willingly."

Calypso turned on her heel and added, "I will be comin' back fer de body," she announced, turning back on her heel and continuing on her way towards the stairs which would lead her out of the ice palace.

"Dere be more than one way out of the Locker," she whispered to both Barbossa and Jack as she walked up the stairs in the ice palace and dissolved away into nothingness. Jack raised an eyebrow at the statement, while Barbossa smirked, storing the information away for later use. Neither had really had the perfect opportunity to explore the Locker to the extent that they wished. Perhaps Calypso kept more than just wandering souls in there, perhaps there was treasure to be found there as well. If either Jack of Barbossa could have heard the others thoughts, they would have been disgusted to learn just how similarly their minds truly worked.

James felt his anger at the current situation growing deep within him. The Goddess could not or would not help him and save Synnove and there was nothing he could think of that would save her either. If only they had some kind of reliable surgeon, perhaps then they could sew Synnove's wounds up and everything would be fine. James leant over Synnove's body and whispered to her, "everything will be alright. Gibbs is right here with us, he sewed my up perfectly and he will do the same for you."

"I do not think he will be able to fix me James," she said, her eyelids fluttering closed. She patted Keys' head gently before turning her complete attention to James. "Min kärlek, my James, please listen to me," she begged before coughing up more blood, her eyelids fluttering closed before shooting wide open again. She was struggling to stay alive for just a moment longer, she needed James to understand.

"I will do anything you ask, just please try to stay awake," he replied running his fingers through her hair and rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

"You joined the Navy for your Father, you struggled to become an Admiral for the memory of your fallen brothers, you died once for Elizabeth and you would have done the same again for me. I could not let you make that choice James; I could not say that I loved you, truly, if I forced you to die for me. Now you are free," Synnove paused to cough up more blood, but forced herself to continue on. "I want you to live your life for yourself. Go where you want, be whom you want to be, there is nothing, no duty or otherwise to hold you back any longer. You are free James."

"I do not want to be free. I want to be with you, always with you," James said wiping the blood from her lips.

"I am sorry min kärlek. Live your life without me. I wish you nothing but happiness, please be happy," she chocked as more blood rose in her throat.

James pulled her closer, if possible, and pushed a strand of her long black hair behind her ear. He cupped her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb, "you have called me that before, what does it mean?" he asked as though if he pretended that nothing was wrong that she would be alright.

"Min kärlek means my love. You are my heart James."

"How could you do this? How could you say that you love me and then take yourself away from me forever? If you loved me, you would have let the blade strike me instead," James said, no longer able to contain his bitter tears.

"I could never let you die for me, my darling James," Synnove stretched the fingers of one hand up to wipe his tears away again while the other linked their fingers together. She coughed up more blood than before this time, her eyes which he had once called enchanting, were now beginning to lose their light. Synnove was fighting a losing battle, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. "Do not live for me James, live for yourself this time."

"Please do not leave me Synnove, please!" he begged whispering in her ear, "I have no reason to go on without you," he said so quietly that Synnove almost did not hear him. Keys continued to whimper and whine as he watched his masters cling to one another.

"That is nonsense. You will go on from here and fall in love with a beautiful young woman. Of course, she will be British, so you will not have to worry about what comments your family would make," she added with a small laugh, a laugh which caused more blood to trickle from her lips. "She will make you the father of several wonderful children," Synnove added before drawing a deep breath. James held her tightly as he felt her body shake with another cough. "Yes, you will go on from here and you will love again, and in time you will forget the sound of my voice and what I looked like. I will become just another blip in time, just another face in the crowd."

James pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed her softly, "I will never forget you, and I love you far too much to let time chase your memories away."

Synnove tilted her head back and nudged her lips against his, "kiss me one more time before I go? Please?" she whispered against his lips.

"Anything for you," James replied kissing her once gently. Synnove responded immediately kissing him weakly back.

Synnove pulled back for a moment, "I am scared James," she whimpered. Her lips connecting with his once again, "and I feel cold. Will you hold me tighter please?"

James cradled her upper body in his arms as her blood seeped through his layers of clothing. He tried to keep her warm and make her as comfortable as possible, but her body still shook with fear and coldness.

James and Synnove's lips melded together gently again and again, his fingers trailing through her long black hair. She pulled away to cough and this time she could not stop the blood from escaping her mouth. James wiped it away with his hand and kissed her lips one final time.

Tears brimmed in the corner of Synnove's eyes and trickled down her pale cheeks, "I think this is it min kärlek."

"Please do not go Synnove," he begged, his tears falling from his eyes and mixing with hers. "I love you."

"I am sorry that I broke my promise. I truly did wish to stay with you forever, but it was not to be. I love you too James, more than anything in the world. Be free my love," she said before the light left her eyes completely and her body went limp in James' arms.

A low mournful howl erupted from Keys in the same instant that Synnove stopped breathing. The howl was loud enough to drown out James' sobbing, and for that he was glad. He climbed onto the slab and pulled her body into his arms properly. Synnove lay cradled in his arms as he rocked her back and forth and whispering incoherently to her. James buried his face in her cold neck and cried, her hair obscuring his face as his sobbing wracked his body. James wanted to take her to her homeland, just like he had promised from the very beginning, and give her a proper burial, who knew what the Sea Goddess would do with his beloved's body.

He held her cold body so tightly and begged her to wake up, to smile at him and make him laugh one more time. He begged her to stop pretending to be dead, telling her he would forgive her for anything she may do, if she would just stop pretending. James was lying to himself, he knew that Synnove could no longer hear him, but he could not bring himself to let go of her. James would never let Synnove go and he would never love again, he whispered his promise into her deaf ears and stared into her unseeing eyes before he broke down again.

James had no idea of how long he sat there, rocking backwards and forwards with Synnove's limp form in his arms and crying silently. Keys accompanying him with a never ending stream of mournful howls.

Time had seemed to stop the moment Synnove had said goodbye, and for James, time would never move forwards again.

* * *

**So, who saw this ending coming? No one?  
*hands out tissues***

I** have had this chapter written for a very long time now but it still feels strange to finally post it. There is still an epilogue to come which will either be posted tomorrow or the day after.**  
**"Serendipity" has been with me for over a year now and has become part of me. Thank for to everyone who has added this story to their alerts or favourites and also thank you to everyone who left me a review and kept me going. Without you, I would have lost motivation a long time ago.  
**  
**There is a poll on my profile page about whether or not there should be a sequel to "Serendipity", I would appreciate it if you would vote. If there is enough demand, I will be writing a sequel.**


	65. Epilogue

"I promised that I would return Synnove home, please Calypso, let me keep my word to her. Even if Synnove cannot see, or feel that she is home and even if she will never know that I kept my word, please I am begging you to let me take her home," James said. His voice wavered as he fought back more tears that threatened to fall. He stroked his fingers through Synnove's long black hair. James placed his hand over her wide unseeing eyes and closed them; he could not stand to look at them any longer. "Please," he repeated, "she deserves to go home."

The Goddess tilted her head to the side and contemplated James' request, the mortal was begging for her help and while she owed him no favours, she felt that she could not deny such a simple request. Synnove was the blood of her blood and it made her happy to know that though her own lover had betrayed her, this man truly loved Synnove.

"Please," James whispered to Calypso again.

She smiled weakly at the mortal before she nodded slowly at him, "I will allow you to fulfil your promise, but den I must take de body with me," Calypso said addressing only James. She then turned her attention to the others "come closer, all of you. It is time we return to de ship. I will take only you wid me any furtha."

James slid from the granite slab, never once letting go of Synnove for an instant. He slipped his arms under her limp body and lifted her up the way a groom carries his bride over the threshold, but Synnove would never be his bride. Her body was cold to the touch and she was heavy in his arms, a literal dead weight.

In the blink of an eye they were all transported back to the _Black Pearl_, their return announced by a surprised gasp coming from the pirates who had been standing closest to where they appeared.

Antanasia, smiling, pushed her way through the crowd of pirates. Her smile instantly dropped when she saw that Synnove was being carried by Norrington and was not moving at all. Synnove's stomach was covered in dark red blood and she was not breathing, Antanasia knew what that meant. "What happened?" Antanasia asked through heavily falling tears.

Yulia moved towards her sister to explain the situation away from Norrington, but James spoke first. "The blades were meant for me, I was meant to die. Before I knew what was happening Synnove pushed me out of the way and sacrificed herself so that I could live," James explained. Though what kind of life he would live without Synnove was one he did not enjoy the thought of.

"Synnove is dead?" Antanasia asked with horror and despair evident in her voice.

"Yes," James said. "Synnove, my Synnove died for me." His voice was hollow with no inflections as he spoke, as if he were as empty as his tone. Antanasia and the pirates gathered around him were nothing but a blur as James tried to see through his watering eyes. The small pregnant girl wailed and dropped to her knees as the words that James spoke ripped through her. Antanasia had begun to think of Synnove as a sister and now she would never see Synnove smile and laugh with her again. Yulia dropped down next to Antanasia and pulled her into her arms, burying her face in her neck and crying with her. Groves was at a loss of what to do so he knelt beside the two grieving sisters

Calypso stepped forward and placed a hand on James' shoulder, "say your goodbye's now," she instructed, "I will be takin' Synnove 'ome now."

Groves pulled Yulia to her feet before helping Antanasia up. The small girl wandered forwards slowly towards James and Synnove. She looked up at the man she had once feared and saw that his eyes were red from crying and that he was struggling to hold back more tears. One look in his eyes and she could see that he was broken beyond any hope of repair. His green eyes lowered to meet Antanasia's with a silent nod of approval. Antanasia stood on the tips of her toes, just as Synnove had always done when she pulled James down for a kiss, and kissed Synnove's cold pale cheek. The young girl whispered something to her in her native language before tearing herself away and running back into Yulia's arms.

Yulia passed her sister to Groves as she made her own way forwards to pay her respects in the impromptu funeral. "Goodbye my very best friend," Yulia said over Synnove's body. "May you find peace on the other side." She did not meet James' eyes instead she shuffled back to Groves, one of her arms tightly around his waist and the other around Antanasia.

"Is there truly no way to bring her back now?" Gillette asked, finally breaking his silence.

Calypso shook her head. He had moved forward to stand closer to Synnove and James and was fighting back his own tears, albeit much more successfully than James.

"Captain Barbossa 'ere died and you brought him back," Ragetti said, speaking up for the first time since seeing the small Swedish woman was dead.

"And we went to Davey Jones Locker to bring Captain Jack back," Pintel added.

Gillette nodded, too upset to be disgusted with the fact that he was agreeing with a pair of pirates. "There must be some way to bring Synnove back," he said, "please, whatever the task is, we will do it in order to bring her back."

Calypso gave no indication to the positive or the negative in answer to their pleading question. "If her be at peace wit her actions not'ing can be done."

James could hear the conversation, but he was not listening. He knew that nothing could bring her back, Synnove had sacrificed herself for him, a sacrifice was nothing like murder which had rid the world of Barbossa, nor was it like being taken like what had befallen Sparrow. Synnove was like no other, she was a once in a lifetime occurrence never to be replicated. No amount of wishing or hoping could ever bring her back. She was dead and there was nothing more to it.

Calypso placed a hand on James' shoulder and closed her eyes, concentrating on the few memories she had of Sweden. She could not take the mortal and his dead bride to the exact spot Synnove would have called home, but she could come close. Reaching out with her almost limitless powers Calypso envisioned the empty field where they would arrive. As she opened her eyes, she had transported them to where she had pictured.

James walked away from the Sea Goddess, carrying Synnove in his arms further into the field. Any other time he would have taken in the scenery, but he saw nothing except for Synnove's cold unmoving form. James lowered himself to the ground, cradling her carefully to his chest. James took Synnove's limp hand in one of his own and let the soft grass brush her fingertips, "I wish you could feel this," James whispered to Synnove's deaf ears. "We made it home."

Silence was the only reply which came from Synnove. James crumpled over Synnove's body, unable to hold the torrent of emotion from bursting forwards. James cried uncontrollably until he physically could not cry anymore. The stabbing pain in his heart reminded him of the day he was killed aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, but it was not he who was laying dead on the pastures of his homeland, it was not he who died to protect the one he loved. He ignored the presence of the Goddess behind him and let his grief run its course. James tore at his shirt searching for a way to numb the pain in his chest although he knew it was not a physical pain and every time he tried to regain his control it slipped away leaving him a desolate sobbing mess.

James slipped the ring from her limp ice cold finger, silent tears slipping down his face. With that ring he had promised to love her forever and together they would create a brilliant future. The ring which he had seen in his dreams had become a reality, but it was the only part of his dream which would ever be able to come true. He had dreamt of having children with Synnove, beautiful children with her kindness and strength in their hearts and her smile on their lips. Just once James dreamt of what he thought was his future and since then he had not been able to forget it. With Synnove by his side he felt like he did before Elizabeth tore him apart, he had regained his honour and his sense of right and wrong, Synnove had given him back himself. James took a deep shuddering breath and tried to hold more tears back, but he could not stop the inevitable. He removed Synnove's necklace and undid the chain at the back. James slid her ring onto the chain before placing it back around his neck. The sapphires shone brilliantly in the sunlight, as a reminder of everything that Synnove was.

"Look Synnove my love, you are home," he whispered, "I kept one of my promises even if I could not keep them all." James brushed her hair from her face and pressed his lips to her forehead. He could not touch her lips knowing they would be ice cold; that was not the last feeling of Synnove that he wanted to remember. "I should have told you this before, but you most likely already know," James said with a wavering voice. "My love for you is eternal my sweet sunshine Synnove," he paused to regain enough of his composure to allow his words to come out properly. "I have done some terrible things in my lifetime Synnove, some of those things I did were for good and some for bad. I know you never judged me for my choices and flaws, you simply loved me despite them or as you would say, because of them." James paused again to blink away his tears so that he could see the face of his love, "At this moment there is nothing I want more than to be wherever you are, but I know what you would say, how furious you would be. I have so much blood on my hands that I do not know if I will ever meet you again on the other side."

"It is time fer you to leave," Calypso said shaking James from his thoughts.

James turned to the Goddess and nodded in understanding but said nothing, he still needed time. Calypso seemed to sense as much, though she doubted James would ever be ready to leave his dead lover.

James turned his attention back to Synnove, "I may never get the chance to see you again after this moment. Wherever you are Synnove, do not forget me, because I will never forget you."

With those parting words he allowed Calypso to take Synnove from him with a solemn look on her face. Before he got another chance to say goodbye to Synnove the scenery around him changed and he was back upon the _Black Pearl_, Synnove no longer held in his empty arms. A whisper on the wind almost sounded like Synnove calling his name, but it was impossible, mere wishful thinking on his part.

Calypso looked down at the woman she held in her arms, the faintest of blue lights still surrounding her. Synnove was most certainly dead, but it took the soul of the strongest person hours to separate completely from the body. There was still time and if Calypso moved quickly enough, there would still be the smallest of hopes.

* * *

**My sincerest gratitude to all of you whom have stuck with me throughout "Serendipity", you have no idea how much your reviews have brightened my days.  
So far only 7 people want a sequel ... I'm still trying to decide whether or not that is enough to warrant a sequel. When I make my decision I will post another chapter here telling you my choice.  
-Chaos**


	66. Author's Note

It would appear that I have been pressganged into writing a sequel to "Serendipity"

The sequel will be titled "The Reclamation" so keep an eye out for it coming out sometime soon!


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